This regulation/procedure and the accompanying complaint form are to be used to make complaints of alleged discrimination or harassment prohibited by the District’s policies.
1. Notification Procedure
Prompt reporting of complaints or concerns is encouraged so that timely and constructive action can be taken before relationships become strained. Reporting of all perceived incidents of harassment and or discrimination is encouraged, regardless of the offender’s identity or position. An employee or student or other individual who feels aggrieved because of harassment or discrimination has several ways to make his or her concerns known:
a. An aggrieved person who feels comfortable doing so should directly inform the person(s) engaging in the harassment or discrimination that such conduct or communication is offensive and must stop.
Note: Confronting the offender is not required. All employees have the right to file a complaint without first communicating with the offender:
b. An aggrieved person who does not wish to communicate directly with the individual whose conduct or communication is offensive, or if direct communication with the offending party has been unavailing, shall contact his or her supervisor or the Building Principal or The District Compliance Officer listed in Section L of this regulation.
c. An aggrieved person alleging any form of harassment or discrimination by anyone with supervisory authority, or alleging failure of supervision to take immediate action on the individual’s complaint, shall contact the Building Principal or The District Compliance Officer.
d. An aggrieved person who is a member of a collective bargaining unit may also be entitled to file a grievance through the collective bargaining grievance procedure depending on the particular terms of the governing collective bargaining agreement.
The District will take appropriate action on all complaints, and the scope
and procedure of any investigation will be dependent on the District’s assessment of the nature of the complaint. No provision of this policy gives rise to any right to a particular procedure, however, and the District reserves the right to respond to complaints in a manner which, in the District’s discretion, will produce the most effective resolution of the complaint.
2. Making a Complaint
All employees and students are encouraged to use the District’s Consolidated Complaint Form to file a complaint of alleged discrimination or harassment. A copy of this form is attached to this procedure. Additional complaint forms can be obtained from any Principal’s office within the District, or from the Compliance Officer, with no questions asked. Because an accurate record of the alleged objectionable behavior is necessary to resolve a complaint of prohibited discrimination, all complaints should be reduced to writing. The District will, however, take appropriate action whenever it learns of incidents of harassment or discrimination, regardless of the source or manner by which the District learns of the incident(s). All supervisory employees should report any incidents of discrimination or harassment of which they become aware up the chain of command to their supervisor, principal or the District’s Compliance Officer. If an employee has any questions or difficulty filling out the complaint form, (s) he can obtain assistance from the Compliance Officer, Principal, or Assistant Principal. All complaints should include: the name of the complaining party, the name of the alleged offender(s), date of the incident(s), description of the incident(s), names of witnesses to the incident(s) and the signature of the complaining party.
Once the complaining party has completed and dated a complaint, with or without the assistance of the District’s Compliance Officer or Principals, the written complaint should be personally delivered to the Building Principal or The District Compliance Officer or placed in their mailbox.
If for any reason an employee is uncomfortable submitting a written complaint to the Principal in the building where that employee is generally assigned, the written complaint may be submitted, either by hand delivery or mail, to The District Compliance Officer listed in Section L. below.
Complainants are expected to cooperate with the District’s investigation procedures by providing all relevant information relating to the complaint, as are other supervisory and non-supervisory employees having relevant or related knowledge or information.
Prompt reporting of all complaints is strongly encouraged. All employees should be aware that appropriate resolution of complaints and effective remedial action oftentimes is possible only when complaints are promptly filed. Furthermore, complaining parties should be aware that statutes of limitations may constrain the time period for instituting legal action outside of this procedure.
In recognition of the personal nature of discrimination complaints and the emotional impact of alleged discrimination, the District shall keep complaints as confidential, to the extent possible given the overriding need for a thorough investigation, applicable collective bargaining agreements, and other laws and regulations regarding employees. For the protection of all individuals who make complaints or are accused of prohibited discrimination, every witness interviewed during an investigation under this Policy will be advised of the confidentiality requirement and instructed not to discuss the complaint, the investigation, or the persons involved. To the extent complaints made under this Policy implicate criminal conduct, the District may be required by law to contact and cooperate with the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
Upon receipt of a written complaint, the supervisor, Building Principal, The District Compliance Officer, or Superintendent of Schools, should endeavor to contact promptly the complainant to confirm that the written complaint has been received. If the complainant does not receive such confirmation promptly, (S)he is encouraged to file a second written complaint or contact the Building Principal or The District Compliance Officer. The purpose of this acknowledgment procedure is to ensure that all written complaints are received by authorized individuals, carefully processed and promptly investigated.
The District will promptly investigate all allegations of discrimination and discriminatory harassment. The District will also attempt to complete investigations under this procedure promptly. The length of the investigation will depend upon the complexity and particular circumstances of each complaint.
Investigations will be conducted by the supervisor, the Building Principal, The District Compliance Officer, the District’s legal counsel, and/or other impartial persons designated by the Superintendent of Schools. The primary purposes of all investigations under this Policy will be to determine:
(1) Did the conduct complained of occur?
(2) Did the conduct complained of violate District policy? and
(3) What remedial or preventative steps, if any, are recommended?
Investigations may include: fact-finding interviews, document review, depositions, observations, or other reasonable methods. The District’s investigators should pursue reasonable steps to investigate each complaint in a thorough and comprehensive manner. Any notes, memoranda, or other records created by the District employees or agents conducting an investigation under this Policy shall be deemed confidential and privileged to the extent allowed by law.
The District Compliance Officer shall notify the complainant of the outcome of the investigation promptly. Such notification shall be in writing, include a brief summary of the factual findings and, wherever possible, shall include a summary of any remedial measures that have been or will be taken by the District. While reasonable efforts will be made to inform the complaining party about the outcome of investigations, the District will nonetheless consider the privacy of all parties involved in dissemination information obtained during and through the investigation.
The District Compliance Officer shall promptly notify the person accused of violating School Board Policy whether a violation of Policy was found and what remedial measures, if any, will be taken by the District.
The South Country District’s primary goal in responding to complaints of prohibited discrimination under its Policies is prevention. The District’s policies are intended to prevent all forms of discrimination and harassment in the District and put an end to any prohibited discrimination that is found to have occurred. While disciplinary action may be appropriate in certain instances, punitive measures are not the exclusive means for responding to prohibited discrimination. During the pendency of any investigation being conducted pursuant to this procedure, remedial measures may be taken if appropriate and necessary.
Any individual who is found to have engaged in prohibited discrimination or conduct, which may be prohibited by District Policy, may receive education, training, counseling, warnings, discipline, or other measures designed to prevent future violations of District Policy. Disciplinary action may include: warnings, suspension, or discharge from employment. Any third party found to have engaged in discrimination or harassment of an employee may be barred from District property.
Retaliation is strictly prohibited by District policy and by law against anyone who reports a suspected violation of District policy, or who assists in making such a complaint, or who cooperates in a harassment or discrimination investigation. Retaliation means taking any adverse action in response to a complaint being made.
Complaints of retaliation should be brought directly to the Building Principal or The District Compliance Officer. Such complaints will be promptly investigated. If retaliation is found, the person retaliating will be subject to corrective action up to and including termination from employment, or in the case of a non-employee, an appropriate remedy up to and including termination of the business relationship.
Because of the damage that can be done to someone falsely accused, any complaint of discrimination or harassment should relate to conduct of the type prohibited by law and/or District policy (as stated in Policy #3420) and should be made in a manner which does not unnecessarily interfere with the orderly administration of the District’s mission.
Any complainant or accused party who wishes to appeal the procedures which the District followed in investigating a written complaint filed under this regulation, may do so within ten (10) days of receipt of the appellant’s notification of the investigation outcome. Untimely submissions shall not receive consideration. Such appeal must be made in writing to the Superintendent of Schools. The appellant shall be entitled to present evidence as to why the investigation procedures were flawed, improper, or otherwise not in compliance with this procedure. The Superintendent’s consideration and review of any such appeal shall be conducted confidentially. Following a review of that evidence, as well as the information obtained in the investigation process and conclusions derived there from, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall render a decision. The appellant shall be notified of the decision in writing. Any complainant or accused party may appeal the determination of the investigation pursuant to the procedures above.
Any complainant or accused party who wishes to appeal the decision of the Superintendent at Level I may do so within ten (10) days of receipt of the Superintendent’s decision. Untimely submissions shall not receive consideration. Such appeal must be made in writing to the Board of Education by submission to the District Clerk. The appellant shall be entitled to present evidence as to why the investigation procedures were flawed, improper, or otherwise not in compliance with this regulation. The Board’s consideration and review of any such appeal shall be conducted confidentially in executive session. Following a review of that evidence, as well as the information obtained in the investigation process and conclusions derived there from, the Board of Education, or its designee, shall render a decision. The Board’s decision shall be final. The appellant shall be notified of the decision in writing.
Nothing set forth in the Appeal Process above shall be construed to in any way confer upon either the complainant(s) or the person(s) accused of violating this Policy any right to appeal the District’s determination as to appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective action to be taken on meritorious complaints. In this regard, the District at all times retains sole discretion to determine the appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective action to be taken with regard to a meritorious complaint.
The District shall maintain a written record of all complaints of discrimination and/or harassment for a period of at least six years. The District shall also document the steps taken with regard to investigations, as well as conclusions reached and remedial action taken, if any. The District shall also maintain these documents for, at a minimum, six years.
The District records regarding alleged discrimination shall be maintained separate and apart from personnel records.
Any questions by employees of the District about this procedure or potential discrimination should be brought to the attention of the District’s Compliance Officer. The name, address, and telephone number of the District’s Compliance Officer is listed in Section L of this Policy.
L. The District Compliance Officer
Dr. Timothy Regan
189 North Dunton Avenue
East Patchogue, N.Y. 11772
(631) 730-1530
E-Mail: tregan@southcountry.org
M. Effective Date and Policy Dissemination
This regulation is effective immediately. The Superintendent of Schools shall ensure that this regulation is adequately disseminated and made available to all employees of the District. This procedure shall be distributed at the beginning of each school year with or as part of the District calendar, school handbook and the District website (www.southcountry.org). In addition, copies of this procedure shall be maintained in the office of the Compliance Officer; the office of each Building Principal; and in the District Policy Book that is available at the school administration center, 189 N. Dunton Avenue, East Patchogue, N.Y. 11772.
Upon the effective date of this regulation, its provisions shall supercede and replace all prior District procedures regarding employee discrimination and harassment related complaint procedures.