School District of Adams Friendship
Administrative Guidelines
 

2260B - COMPLAINT PROCEDURES FOR NONDISCRIMINATION

Introduction

The Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of any characteristic protected under State or Federal law including, but not limited to, age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability in any of its student programs and activities.

Any person that believes that s/he has been discriminated against or denied equal opportunity or access to programs or services may file a complaint with one of the District’s Civil Rights Coordinators or the District Administrator.

Complaint Coordinators

Director of Pupil Services

School District of Adams-Friendship

201 West 6th Street

Friendship, WI 53934

(608)339-3213

The individual may also, at any time, contact the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661; Telephone: 312-730-1560, Fax: 312-730-1576; TDD: 877-521-2172; E-mail: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov

Informal Procedures

A person who believes s/he has a valid basis for a complaint may discuss the matter informally and on an oral basis with the District's Civil Rights Coordinator, who will investigate the complaint and reply with an answer to the complainant. If the informal procedures do not resolve the matter to the complainant's satisfaction or s/he skips the informal process, s/he may initiate formal procedures according to the following steps:

Formal Procedure
 

Step 1
   
 

Investigation by the District Civil Rights Coordinator: A person may initiate a formal investigation by filing a written complaint with the District Civil Rights Coordinator. The complaint must contain the name and address of the individual or representative filing the complaint, be signed by the complainant or someone authorized to sign for the complainant, and describe the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Civil Rights Coordinator of the nature and date of the alleged violation, and propose a resolution. The complaint must be filed within thirty (30) calendar days of the circumstances or event giving rise to the complaint, unless the time for filing is extended by the Civil Rights Coordinator for good cause. The Civil Rights Coordinator will conduct an impartial investigation of the complaint. As part of the investigation, the Civil Rights Coordinator shall permit the complainant to present witnesses and other evidence in support of his/her complaint. The investigation shall be completed within ten (10) business days of the written complaint being filed. The Civil Rights Coordinator will notify the complainant in writing of his/her decision and will maintain the District's files and records relating to the complaint.
 
 

Step 2
 
 

If the complainant is not satisfied with the Civil Rights Coordinator's Step 1 decision, s/he may submit, in writing, a signed statement of appeal to the District Administrator within five (5) business days after receipt of the Coordinator's response. The District Administrator shall meet with all parties involved, formulate a conclusion, and respond in writing to the complainant within fifteen (15) business days of receiving the written appeal.
 
 

Step 3
 
 

If the complainant remains unsatisfied, s/he may file a written appeal with the Board of Education. The appeal must be filed within five (5) business days of his/her receipt of the District Administrator's response in Step 2. In an attempt to resolve the complaint, the Board of Education shall meet with the parties and their representative within twenty (20) business days of the receipt of such appeal. A copy of the Board's disposition of the appeal shall be sent to each party within fifteen (15) business days of this meeting.

The complainant may be represented, at his/her own cost, at any of the above-described meetings/hearings.

The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint shall not be impaired by the person's pursuit of other remedies such as the filing of a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights or the filing of a court case in the appropriate Federal District Court. Use of this internal complaint procedure is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.

The Civil Rights Coordinator will provide a copy of the District's complaint procedure to any person who files a complaint and will investigate all complaints in accordance with this procedure.

A copy of each of the Acts and the regulations on which this notice is based, may be found in the office of each building administrator.

Student Complaint Procedure Under Section 118.13, Wisconsin Statutes

Consistent with the requirements of Section 118.13, Wisconsin Statutes, it is the policy of the District that no person, on the basis of sex; race; color; religion; national origin; ancestry; creed; pregnancy; marital or parental status; sexual orientation; or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability may be denied admission to school or be denied participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any curricular, extra-curricular, student services, recreational or other program or activity. Areas covered by this policy include admission to any school, class, program, or activity; standards and rules of behavior, including student harassment; disciplinary actions, including suspensions and expulsions; acceptance and administration of gifts, bequests, scholarships and other aids, benefits or services to students from private agencies, organizations or persons; instructional and library material selection; methods, practices, and materials used for testing, evaluating and counseling students; facilities; opportunity for participation in athletic programs or other extra-curricular activities; and school sponsored food service programs.

If any person believes that the District or any part of the school organization has failed to follow Section 118.13, Wisconsin Statutes or in some way discriminated against students on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability, s/he may file a written complaint with a District Civil Rights Coordinator, as indicated above, or the District Administrator.

The procedure for resolution of complaints shall be as follows:
 

Step 1
 
 

A written statement of the complaint shall be prepared by the complainant on the form provided by the District and signed. This complaint shall be presented to the Coordinator. The Coordinator shall send written acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint to the complainant within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the written complaint.
 
 

Step 2
 
 

A written determination of the complaint shall be made by the Board of Education within ninety (90) days of the receipt of the written complaint unless the parties agree to an extension of time.
 
 

Step 3
 
 

If a complainant wishes to appeal a negative determination by the Board, s/he has the right to appeal the decision to the State Superintendent within thirty (30) days of the Board’s decision
   
 

In addition, the complainant may appeal directly to the State Superintendent if the Board has no complaint procedure or has not provided written acknowledgement within forty-five (45) days of the receipt of the complaint or made a determination within ninety (90) days of receipt of the written complaint and the parties have not agreed to an extension of time.

Appeals should be addressed to: State Superintendent, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, P.O. Box 7841, Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7841. More information is available at:

http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/puplnondis.html

Office For Civil Rights

Discrimination complaints may also be filed with the Federal government at the Office for Civil Rights-Chicago, U.S. Department of Education,

Citigroup Center

500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475

Chicago, IL 60661

Telephone: 312-730-1560

Fax: 312-730-1576; TDD: 877-521-2172

E-mail: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov

The complaint must generally be filed within 180 days of the date the discrimination occurred. You do not have to file a complaint with the District before filing a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, and you may file complaints with both the District and the Office for Civil Rights if you wish to do so.

Prohibition Against Retaliation

The Board will not discriminate against, coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any individual because the person opposed any act or practice made unlawful by any Federal civil rights law, or because that individual made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under those laws or because that individual exercised, enjoyed, aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or protected by those laws.

False Information

Any individual who knowingly files a false complaint or knowingly provides false information concerning a complaint shall be subject to disciplinary action.

118.13 Wis. Stats.
P.I. 9, 41, Wis. Adm. Code
Fourteenth Amendment, U.S. Constitution
20 U.S.C. 1681, Title IX of Education Amendments Act
20 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974
29 U.S.C. 794, Rehabilitation Act of 1973
42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
42 U.S.C. 2000 et seq., Civil Rights Act of 1964
Vocational Education Program Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services, Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, 1979

Revised 7/03
Revised 2/10/10
Revised 6/2/10
Revised 1/3/11