Complaint Procedures

Parents and Guardians:

Pursuant to California Education Code section 35186, you are hereby notified that:

  1. There should be sufficient textbooks and instructional materials. That means each pupil, including English learners, must have a textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in the class and to take home to complete required homework assignments.
  2. School facilities must be clean, safe, and maintained in good repair.
  3. There should be no teacher vacancies or mis-assignments as defined in Education Code 35186(h)(1) and (2).  Mis-assignment means the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position for which the employee does not hold a legally recognized certificate or credential or the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position that the employee is not otherwise authorized by statute to hold.  A teacher vacancy means a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of the year for an entire year or, if the position is for a one-semester course, a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of a semester for an entire semester.
  4. A complaint form may be obtained at the school office, district office or use this link to print our district form. FCUSD Williams Complaint Form.  You may also receive limited information from California Department of Education from the following Web site: http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cp/uc/index.asp.

Board Policy and Administrative Regulations 1312.3 outlines the Board of Trustees procedures for individuals wishing to utilize the Uniform Complaint Procedure. 

 

Board Policy 1312.3

The Governing Board recognizes that the District is responsible for complying with applicable state and federal laws and regulations governing educational programs.  The District shall investigate complaints alleging failure to comply with such laws and/or alleging discrimination and shall seek to resolve those complaints in accordance with the District’s uniform complaint procedures.  (5 CCR 4620)

The District shall follow uniform complaint procedures when addressing complaints alleging unlawful discrimination based on age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, ethnic group identification, race, ancestry, national origin, religion, color, or mental or physical disability in any program or activity that receives or benefits from state financial assistance.  Uniform complaint procedures shall also be used when addressing complaints alleging failure to comply with state and/or federal laws in adult education, consolidated categorical aid programs, migrant education, career technical and technical education and career technical and technical training programs, child care and development programs, child nutrition programs, special education programs, and federal school safety planning requirements. 

Complaints related to sufficiency of textbooks or instructional materials, emergency or urgent facilities conditions that pose a threat to the health or safety of students or staff, and teacher vacancies and mis-assignments shall be investigated pursuant to the District’s Williams uniform complaint procedure (AR 1312.4) 

The Board encourages the early, informal resolution of complaints at the site level whenever possible.

Upon receipt of a written complaint from an individual, public agency, or organization, uniform complaint procedures shall be initiated.  The Superintendent or designee shall distribute full information about these procedures.

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that employees designated to investigate complaints are knowledgeable about the laws and programs for which they are responsible.  Such employees may have access to legal counsel as determined by the Superintendent or designee. 

The Board acknowledges and respects every individual's right to privacy.  Discrimination complaints shall be investigated in a manner that protects the confidentiality of the parties and the facts.  This includes keeping the identity of the complainant confidential except to the extent necessary to carry out the investigation or proceedings, as determined by the Superintendent or designee on a case-by-case basis.

The Board prohibits retaliation in any form for participating in complaint procedures, including but not limited to the filing of a complaint or the reporting of instances of discrimination.  Such participation shall not in any way affect the status, grades, or work assignments of the complainant.

The Board recognizes that a neutral mediator can often suggest a compromise that is agreeable to all parties in a dispute.  In accordance with uniform complaint procedures, whenever all parties to a complaint agree to try resolving their problem through mediation, the Superintendent or designee shall initiate mediation.  The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that mediation results are consistent with state and federal laws and regulations.

Legal Reference: 

EDUCATION CODE

200-262.3 Prohibition of discrimination

8200-8498 Child care and development programs

8500-8538 Adult basic education

18100-18172 School libraries

32289 School safety plan, uniform complaint procedure

35186 Alternative uniform complaint procedure

48985 Notices in language other than English

49060-49079 Student records

49490-49590 Child nutrition programs

52160-52178 Bilingual education programs

52300-52499.6 Vocational education

52500-52616.24 Adult schools

52800-52870 School-based coordinated programs 

54000-54041 Economic impact aid programs

54100-54145 Miller-Unruh Basic Reading Act

54400-54425 Compensatory education programs

54440-54445 Migrant education

54460-54529 Compensatory education programs

56000-56885 Special education programs

59000-59300 Special schools and centers

62000-62005.5 Evaluation and sun setting of programs

64000-64001 Consolidated application process

 

CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5

3080 Application of section 4600-4671 Uniform complaint procedures

4900-4965 Nondiscrimination in elementary and secondary education programs PENAL CODE

422.6 Interference with constitutional right or privilege

UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20

6301-6577 Title I Basic Programs

6601-6777 Title II Preparing and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals

6801-6871 Title III, Language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant students

7101-7184 Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, including

7114 Local educational program, safety plans

7201-7283g Title V Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative Programs

7301- 7372 Title VI Rural and Low-Income School Programs

 

Management Resources:

WEB SITES

California Department of Education:  http://www.cde.ca.gov

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR

  

Revised:            March 15, 2007

Revised:            August 3, 2006

Revised:            May 6, 2003

Adopted:           February 18, 1999

 

 

Administrative Regulation 1312.3

The governing Board designates the following compliance officer to receive and investigate complaints and ensure District compliance with law:

Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
125 E. Bidwell Street
Folsom, CA 95630
(916) 355-1100

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that employees designated to investigate complaints are knowledgeable about the laws and programs for which they are responsible.  Such employees may have access to legal counsel as determined by the Superintendent or designee.

 

Notifications

The Superintendent or designee shall meet the notification requirements of 5 CCR 4622, including the annual dissemination of District complaint procedures and information about available appeals, civil law remedies, and conditions under which a complaint may be taken directly to the California Department of Education.  The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that complainants understand that they may pursue other remedies, including actions before civil courts or other public agencies.

 

Procedures

The following procedures shall be used to address all complaints which allege that the District has violated federal or state laws or regulations governing educational programs.  Compliance officers shall maintain a record of each complaint and subsequent related actions, including all information required for compliance with 5 CCR 4632.

All parties involved in allegations shall be notified when a complaint is filed, when a complaint meeting or hearing is scheduled and when a decision or ruling is made.

Filing of Complaint

 Any individual, public agency, or organization may file a written complaint of alleged noncompliance by the District.

 

Complaints alleging unlawful discrimination may be filed by a person who alleges that he/she personally suffered unlawful discrimination or by a person who believes that an individual or any specific class of individuals has been subjected to unlawful discrimination.  The complaint must

be initiated no later than six months from the date when the alleged discrimination occurred or when the complainant first obtained knowledge of the facts of the alleged discrimination. (5 CCR 4630)

Informal Complaint Procedure (Form - To be completed by Site Administrator)  

The complainant presents the concern, in a timely manner, to the designated site or program administrator.  Within five (5) working days, the site or program administrator will attempt to resolve the concern to the complainant’s satisfaction.  If informal action is not satisfactory to the complainant, the complainant may move to the Formal Complaint Procedure.  (5 CCR 4630)

Formal Complaint Procedure

Within five (5) working days of the conclusion of the informal complaint procedure, the complainant must file a formal complaint with the site principal/manager.

The complaint must be in written form and follow the timelines as outlined in this regulation.

1.        Local Level

 Complainant requests complaint form and policy, and completes the complaint form.

 

 The complaint is delivered to the site principal/manager.

a.         Within ten (10) working days, the site principal/manager will:

1)     Obtain written statements from the employee(s) regarding the complainant’s concern.

2)     Provide a written statement to the complainant and employee(s) of the investigation, conclusion, actions taken to resolve the complainant’s concern and the District’s appeal programs.  (The conclusion may deny the complaint or provide specific actions to resolve complainant’s concerns.)

The decision may be appealed to the District Superintendent or designee, in writing, within five (5) working days of receipt of the principal’s/manager’s decision.

The complaint shall be presented to the compliance officer who shall maintain a log of complaints received, providing each with a code number and a date stamp.

If a complainant is unable to put a complaint in writing due to conditions such as illiteracy or other disabilities, District staff shall help him/her to file the complaint.  (5 CCR 4600)

 2.      District Level

If the complainant is not satisfied with the action taken at the local level, the complainant may file a District-level complaint.  The complaint must be filed within five (5) working days of receipt of the local-level decision.  The complaint will be forwarded to the District Compliance Officer.

Mediation

The compliance officer may informally discuss with the complainant the possibility of using mediation.  If the complainant agrees to mediation, the compliance officer shall make all arrangements for this process.

Before initiating the mediation of a discrimination complaint, the compliance officer shall ensure that all parties agree to make the mediator a party to related confidential information.

If the mediation process does not resolve the problem within the parameters of law, the compliance officer shall proceed with his/her investigation of the complaint.

The use of mediation shall not extend the district's timelines for investigating and resolving the complaint unless the complainant agrees in writing to such an extension of time.

Investigation

The compliance officer shall hold an investigative meeting within fifteen (15) working days of receiving the complaint.  This meeting shall provide an opportunity for the complainant and/or his/her representative to repeat the complaint orally.

The complainant and/or his/her representative and the District’s representatives shall also have an opportunity to present information relevant to the complaint.  Parties to the dispute may discuss the complaint and question each other or each other’s witnesses.  (5 CCR 4631)

Response

Within forty-five (45) working days of receiving the complaint, the compliance officer shall prepare and send to the complainant a written report of the District’s investigation and decision, as described in Step #5 below.  (5 CCR 4631)  If the complainant is dissatisfied with the compliance officer’s decision, he/she may, within five (5) working days, file his/her complaint in writing with the Board.

The Board may consider the matter at its next regular Board meeting or at a special Board meeting convened in order to meet the sixty (60) working day time limit within which the complaint must be answered.  The Board may decide not to hear the complaint, in which case the compliance officer’s decision is final.

If the Board hears the complaint, the compliance officer shall send the Board’s decision to the complainant within sixty (60) working days of the District’s initially receiving the complaint or within the time period that has been specified in a written agreement with the complainant. (5 CCR 4631)

Final Written Decision

The report of the District’s decision shall be written in English and in the language of the complainant whenever feasible or required by law.  If it is not feasible to write this report in the complainant’s primary language, the District shall arrange a meeting at which a community member will interpret it for the complainant.

This report shall include:

  1. The findings and disposition of the complaint, including corrective actions, if any (5 CCR 4631)
  2. The rationale for the above disposition (5 CCR 4631)
  3. Notice of the complainant’s right to appeal the decision within 15 days to the California Department of Education, and procedures to be followed for initiating such an appeal (5 CCR 4631)
  4. A detailed statement of all specific issues that were brought up during the investigation and the extent to which these issues were resolved.
  5. In a discrimination complaint, notice of the right to seek civil law remedies no sooner than sixty days have elapsed since filing an appeal with CDE, with the exception of injunctive relief, for which the moratorium does not apply.

If an employee is disciplined as a result of the complaint, this report shall simply state that effective action was taken and that the employee was informed of District expectations.  The report shall not give any further information as to the nature of the disciplinary action.

Appeals to the California Department of Education

If dissatisfied with the District’s decision, the complainant may appeal in writing to the California Department of Education within fifteen (15) working days of receiving the District’s decision.  For good cause, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may grant an extension for filing appeals.  (5 CCR 4652)

When appealing to the California Department of Education, the complainant must specify the reason(s) for appealing the District’s decision and must include a copy of the locally-filed complaint and the District’s decision.  (5 CCR 4652)

Civil Law Remedy

Complainant has the right to pursue civil law remedies at his/her discretion.  Complainants may seek assistance from mediation centers or public/private interest attorneys.  Civil law remedies that may be imposed by a court include, but are not limited to, injunctions and restraining orders.  In a discrimination complaint, complainant must allow sixty (60) working days to elapse from the filing of an appeal with the California Department of Education prior to seeking civil law remedies.  This moratorium does not apply to injunctive relief, and is applicable only if the District has appropriately, and in a timely manner, apprised the complainant of his/her right to file a complaint in accordance with 5 CCR 4622.

Revised:    August 3, 2006

Revised:    May 6, 2003

Approved:  February 18, 1999