Types of Complaints
The district shall use the following procedures to investigate and resolve complaints when the complainant alleges that any of the following has occurred: (Education Code 35186)
1. Instructional materials
a. A pupil, 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.
b. A pupil does not have access to instructional materials to use at home or after school in order to complete required homework assignments.
c. Textbooks or instructional materials are in poor or unusable condition, have missing pages, or are unreadable due to damage.
(cf. 6161.1 - Selection and Evaluation of Instructional Materials)
2. Teacher vacancy or misassignment
a. A semester begins and a certificated teacher is not assigned to teach the class.
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. (Education Code 33126)
b. A teacher who lacks credentials or training to teach English learners is assigned to teach a class with more than 20 percent English learner pupils in the class.
(cf. 4112.22 - Staff Teaching Pupils of Limited English Proficiency)
c. 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. (Education Code 35186)
(cf. 4112.2 - Certification)
(cf. 4113 - Assignment)
3. Facilities
A condition poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff.
Emergency or urgent threat means structures or systems that are in a condition that poses a threat to the health and safety of pupils 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 line 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 pupils or staff; or structural damage creating a hazardous or uninhabitable condition. (Education Code 17592.72)
Filing of Complaint
A complaint alleging any condition(s) specified above shall be filed with the principal or designee. The principal or designee shall forward a complaint about problems beyond his/her authority to the Superintendent or designee within 10 working days. (Education Code 35186)
The principal or designee shall make all reasonable efforts to investigate any problem 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. (Education Code 35186)
Complaints may be filed anonymously. If the complainant has indicated on the complaint form that he/she would like a response to his/her 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. At the same time, the principal or designee shall report the same information to the Superintendent or designee. (Education Code 35186)
If a complainant is not satisfied with the resolution of the complaint, he/she may describe the complaint to the Board of Trustees at a regularly scheduled hearing. (Education Code 36186)
For complaints concerning a facility condition that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in item #3 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. (Education Code 35186)
Complaints and written responses shall be public records. (Education Code 35186)
(cf. 1340 - Access to District Records)
Reports
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. (Education Code 35186)
Forms and Notices
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. (Education Code 35186)
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. (Education Code 35186)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
1240 County superintendent of schools, duties
17592.72 Urgent or emergency repairs, School Facility Emergency Repair Account
33126 School Accountability Report Card
35186 Alternative uniform complaint procedure
60119 Hearing on sufficiency of instructional materials
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
4600-4671 Uniform complaint procedures
Management Resources:
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education, Williams case: http://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/ce/wc/index.asp
Regulation SAUGUS UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
approved: April 4, 2006 Santa Clarita, California