WILLIAMS UNIFORM COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

1. Purpose and Scope

   
   

   To establish procedures which will provide a sequence to be followed in the event of a complaint regarding any of the aspects of the Williams Settlement.

   
   

2. General

   The district shall use the following procedures to investigate and resolve complaints when the complainant alleges that any of the following has occurred:

   
   

   1. Textbooks and instructional materials

      1. A student, including an English learner, does not have standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials or state- or district-adopted textbooks or other required instructional materials to use in class.

         
         

      2. A student does not have access to textbooks or instructional materials to use at home or after school.

      3. Textbooks or instructional materials are in poor or unusable condition, have missing pages, or are unreadable due to damage.

         
         

   2. Teacher vacancy or misassignment

      
      

      1. A semester begins and a teacher vacancy exists.

         
         

         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 the semester for an entire semester.

      2. A teacher who lacks credentials or training to teach English learners is assigned to teach a class with more than 20 percent English learner students in the class.

      3. A teacher is assigned to teach a class for which the teacher lacks subject matter competency.

         
         

         Misassignment 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.

   3. Facilities

      
      

      1. A condition poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of students or staff.

         Emergency or urgent threat means structures of systems that are in a condition that poses a threat to the health and safety of students or staff while at school, including, but not limited to, gas leaks; nonfunctioning heating, ventilation, fire sprinklers, or air- conditioning systems; electrical power failure; major sewer stoppage; major pest or vermin infestation; broken windows or exterior doors or gates that will not lock and that pose a security risk; abatement of hazardous materials previously undiscovered that pose an immediate threat to students of staff; or structural damage creating a hazardous or uninhabitable condition.

         
         

      2. A school restroom has not been cleaned, maintained, or kept open in accordance with Education Code 35292.5.

         Clean or maintained school restroom means a school restroom has been cleaned or maintained regularly, is fully operational, or has been stocked at all times with toilet paper, soap, and paper towels or functional hand dryers.

         Open restrooms means, except as necessary for student safety or to make repairs, the school has kept all restrooms open during school hours when students are not in classes and has kept a sufficient number of restrooms open during school hours when students are in classes.

   4. High School Exit Examination intensive instruction and services

      A student, including an English learner, who has not passed the exit exam by the end of grade 12 was not provided the opportunity to receive intensive instruction and services pursuant to Education Code 37254(d)(4) and (5) after completion of grade 12 for two consecutive academic years or until the student has passed both parts of the exam, whichever comes first.

      
      

3. Forms Used and Additional References:

   
   

   Williams Uniform Complaint Form Posters

   Parent/Student Brochure Back-to-School packet

4. Procedure

   
   

   1. Filing of Complaint

      
      

      A complaint alleging any condition(s) specified in items #1-3 above shall be filed with the principal or designee at the school in which the complaint arises. The principal or designee shall forward a complaint about problems beyond his/her authority to the Superintendent or designee in a timely manner, but not to exceed 10 working days.

      A complaint alleging that more than one student does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as the result of an act by the Board, or the Board's failure to remedy the deficiency, may be filed with the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) directly in addition to or in lieu of being filed with the district. Any such complaint shall identify the basis and provide evidence to support its filing directly with the SPI. (Education Code 35186)

      If the Superintendent or designee becomes aware that a complaint alleging insufficient textbooks or instructional materials has been filed directly with the SPI but not with the district, the Superintendent or designee may initiate an investigation in accordance with this administrative regulation, as described below, if there is sufficient evidence to do so.

      
      

      A complaint alleging any deficiency specified in item #4 above shall be filed with a district official designated by the Superintendent. Such complaints may be filed at the district office or at a school site and shall be immediately forwarded to the Superintendent or designee.

      
      

   2. Investigation and Response

      
      

      The principal or designee shall make all reasonable efforts to investigate any problems within his/her authority. He/she shall remedy a valid complaint within a reasonable time period not to exceed 30 working days from the date the complaint was received.

      Complaints may be filed anonymously. If the complainant has indicated on the complaint form that he/she would like a response to the complaint, the principal or designee shall report the resolution of the complaint to him/her within 45 working days of the initial filing of the complaint. If a response is requested, the response shall be made to the mailing address of the complainant as indicated on the complaint form. At the same time, the principal or designee shall report the same information to the Superintendent or designee.

      
      

      When Education Code 48985 is applicable and the complainant has requested a response, the response shall be written in English and in the primary language in which the complaint was filed.

      
      

      If a complainant is not satisfied with the resolution of a complaint, he/she has the right to describe the complaint to the Governing Board at a regularly scheduled meeting.

      For any complaint concerning a facilities condition that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of students of staff as described in item #3a above, a complainant who is not satisfied with the resolution proffered by the principal or Superintendent or designee may file an appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction within 15 days of receiving the district’s response. The complainant shall comply with the appeal requirements specified in 5 CCR 4632.

      All complaints and written responses shall be public records.

      
      

5. Reports Required

   
   

   The Superintendent or designee shall report summarized data on the nature and resolution of all complaints to the Board and the County Superintendent of Schools on a quarterly basis. The report shall include the number of complaints by general subject area with the number of resolved and unresolved complaints. These summaries shall be publicly reported on a quarterly basis at a regularly scheduled Board meeting.

   
   

   The superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district’s complaint form contains a space to indicate whether the complainant desires a response to his/her complaint and specifies the location for filing a complaint. A complainant may add as much text to explain the complaint as he/she wishes. However, complainants need not sue the district’s Williams complaint form in order to file a complaint.

   
   

   The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that a notice is posted in each classroom in each school containing the components specified in Education Code 35186.

6. Record Retention

   
   

   1. Complaint form

   2. Written district decision

      
      

7. Responsible Administrative Unit

   1. Site Principal

   2. Educational Services Division

   3. Superintendent

      
      

8. Approved by:

LEGAL REFERENCE:

Education Code

Code of Regulations, Title 5

4600-4687.1 Uniform complaint procedures, especially: 4680-4687 Williams complaints