FILE: GAE
NON-TITLE IX COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES
Any employee of the DeSoto Parish School Board shall have the right to appeal the application of policies and administrative decisions affecting him/her. The person(s) filing the grievance shall be assured freedom from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal in presenting his/her appeal with respect to a personal grievance.
This policy shall not apply to sexual harassment complaints made pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and Part 106 of Title 34 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. Any such Title IX complaints shall be subject to the Grievance Procedure developed and maintained by the Superintendent or his/her designee under the provisions of policy JAAA, Title IX Sexual Harassment.
EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS
A grievance is a claim by an employee or group of employees as a result of an alleged violation or misapplication of a contract, School Board policy, administrative regulation or procedures, or state or federal law, or an employee’s perception of a wrong against him/her as a result of management’s or another employee’s decisions or behaviors. The term grievance does not include matters for which the method of review is prescribed by law or where the School Board is without authority to act (e.g., employee lack of certification, terminations, rebuttal to observation, etc.)
Any grievance relative to an evaluation in accordance with Bulletin 130, Regulations for the Evaluation and Assessment of School Personnel, shall end with Step II as stated below.
PROCEDURES
Any complaint by a teacher, group of teachers, other school employees or group of employees about or involving the school system shall be reviewed in accordance with the following procedure:
Step One
An employee shall submit a written complaint to the principal or for personnel not based at a school site to the immediate supervisor within five (5) working days of the date of the alleged complaint. If the complaint is not submitted within the time prescribed, the employee has no further right with respect to the claim or grievance.
Within five (5) working days of the receipt of a complaint, the principal and/or the immediate supervisor and the employee shall meet to attempt to resolve the complaint. The principal or the immediate supervisor shall receive, investigate and consider information from all affected parties he/she feels necessary to resolve the complaint and to make a decision.
Within five (5) working days following the meeting between the principal or the immediate supervisor and the employee, the principal or the immediate supervisor shall mail or deliver his/her decision in writing to the employee. The principal or immediate supervisor is required to document the date of receipt of the written decision by the employee.
Step Two
If the employee or group of employees are not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance by the principal or the immediate supervisor, then within five (5) working days of receipt of the decision from the principal or the immediate supervisor, the employee may submit to the Superintendent or his/her designee a written request for the grievance which shall include the decision in Step One. If the decision of the principal or the immediate supervisor is not presented to the Superintendent within the time prescribed, the employee shall have no further right with respect to the complaint or grievance.
The Superintendent or designee shall schedule a meeting with the employee not more than fifteen (15) working days after receipt of the written appeal to attempt to resolve the complaint. Notice of the Step Two conference shall be given to the employee, as well as to the individuals who rendered the Step One decision.
The Superintendent or designee shall within ten (10) working days provide a written notice to employee or group of employees of the disposition of the grievance based upon the file presented to the Superintendent or designee. The date of receipt by the employee of the written notice of the disposition shall be documented in the file.
Step Three
If the employee is not satisfied with the written notice of disposition of the grievance by the Superintendent or designee, the employee or group of employees may, within five (5) working days of the date of receipt of the Superintendent's notice of disposition, request a full hearing before the Superintendent or designee, of the claim or grievance.
The Superintendent or designee shall schedule the full hearing with the employee within twenty (20) working days of the request for a hearing. The Superintendent or designee may receive at the hearing written statements of witnesses, other written materials and/or interview witnesses, if relevant to the claim or complaint. The hearing is an informal meeting or hearing controlled by the Superintendent or designee. The purpose of any such fair hearing is to resolve the complaint. The Superintendent or designee shall provide for recording the hearing and to maintain a transcript of the proceedings. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Superintendent or designee shall make a written recommendation to the School Board for disposition of the grievance. That recommendation, together with a copy of the transcript of the hearing and the previous decisions shall be provided to the employee and to the School Board at a meeting of the School Board but not more than thirty (30) working days following the hearing.
Step Four
On the basis of the written recommendation and the transcript of the hearing before the Superintendent or designee provided to it, the School Board shall dispose of the grievance. There shall be no hearing before the School Board. An employee or his/her representative may comment on the School Board's proposed disposition of the grievance. The School Board may vote to affirm, reverse or modify the recommendation. Notice of the School Board's decision shall be given to the employee and to the individuals who rendered the Step One and Step Two decisions. The School Board's action shall be final.
GENERAL MATTERS
An employee shall be entitled to representation of his/her choice at all levels of these procedures after Step One. The employee who chooses to have a representative, shall provide advance written notice of the name of the representative to the Superintendent or designee at least two (2) days prior to any meeting or scheduled hearing.
Working day is defined as any day the Central Office of the School Board is open for business.
Nothing in this grievance policy shall be applicable to any recommendation for termination of employment of an employee. Any recommendation for termination shall be handled in accordance with the procedures and any applicable law or policy, such as the teachers’ tenure law, the bus operator tenure law or School Board policy for terminations of classified employees.
A grievance may be withdrawn at any level without prejudice or record. Additionally, there shall be no recrimination against a person because a grievance has been filed in accordance with the provisions outlined herein.
Copies of all written decisions of grievances shall be sent to all parties involved.
All documents, communication, or records dealing with a grievance shall be made part of the grievant’s files and shall be destroyed only in accordance with School Board policy.
Appeals of grievance decisions shall be limited to the specific issues raised in the original grievance. The parties involved shall not be allowed to expand the issues during the grievance procedure, except to the extent necessary to respond to administrative decisions made along the way.
Failure by the grievant to meet the timelines and requirements of this procedure shall result in dismissal of his/her grievance. Failure by the administrative person rendering the decision to meet timelines and requirements of this procedure shall allow the grievant, at his/her option, to proceed to the next level of appeal.
If an employee leaves the employment of the School Board during the pendency, at any level, of a complaint or grievance, then the employee loses the right to continue the complaint process.
Approved: December, 2003
Revised: December, 2012
Revised: February 6, 2020
Revised: September 3, 2020
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:100.4
Pickering v. Board of Education, 88 S. Ct. 1731 (1968)
Board minutes, 12-7-95, 12-6-12, 2-6-20, 9-3-20
DeSoto Parish School Board