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6520 |
STUDENT GRIEVANCES |
6520 |
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A student, parent, or guardian may initiate the
grievance procedure to appeal any final decision of school personnel within
the school system, except as provided in section 6520.1 below. Grievances that involve an alleged
violation of board policy or state or federal law or regulation by a final
administrative decision may be appealed to the Board of Education. All other grievances may be appealed to the
Superintendent/Designee but are only appealable to the Board in its
discretion as outlined below |
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6520.1
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This policy does not
apply in the case of long-term suspension or expulsion where the provisions
of the sections 6530.3 – 6530.8 of policy 6530 apply or in the case of
alleged sexual harassment where the provisions of section 6415.4 of policy
6415 apply. |
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6520.2 |
Step I – Principal Conference – A
student, parent, or guardian wishing to invoke the grievance procedure shall
make a written request for a conference with the principal to discuss the
grievance and seek resolution. The
request shall detail the basis for the grievance, name the specific
policy, rule or law believed to have been violated, and specify the relief
being sought. The following additional
guidelines shall be observed in Step I. |
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A.
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No grievance shall be heard unless
it has been filed in writing within thirty(30)calendar days after the act or
condition giving rise to the grievance and states with particularity the
basis for the grievance, the policy, regulation and procedure, rule or law
believed to have been violated, and the remedy being sought. |
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B. |
The principal shall grant the
conference within five(5)school days following receipt of the request. The
principal will state in writing his/her position on the question to the
student or parent within five (5) school days following the conference. |
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C. |
Only the parent,
guardian, or someone acting in loco parentis shall be permitted to
join or represent the student in the conference with the principal. |
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6520.3 |
Step II – Appeal to the
Superintendent – If the grievance is not resolved at Step I the student,
parent, or guardian may appeal the principal’s decision in writing to the
superintendent. The appeal must be
made within five (5) school days following receipt of the principal’s written
response in “B” of Step I. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall
review the grievance within five (5) school days following receipt of the
appeal. If the Superintendent or
his/her designee determines that additional time is needed to develop the
factual record, the grievance may be put on hold for fifteen (15) additional
days (or longer if by mutual agreement) to allow time for investigation. A written response shall be made to the
student, parent, guardian, and principal from the superintendent or his/her
designee within ten (10) school days following the review. |
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6520.4
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Step III – Appeal to Board of
Education – If the grievance is not resolved at Step II, and it involves an
alleged violation of state or local board policy or state or federal law or
state rule by a final administrative decision, it may be appealed in writing
to the board of education. This
written appeal must be made within ten (10) school days following the written
response from the superintendent at Step II.
The board’s consideration of these appeals will take place in closed
session and will be limited to the written record unless the board determines
that additional information is necessary. The board may affirm, reverse, or
modify the decision of the Superintendent.
The Level Two decision will be reversed if the board determines that
there has been a material violation of board policy or state or federal law
or regulation, or that the decision is unsupported by substantial evidence in
view of the entire record as submitted.
The board shall offer a final written decision within thirty (30)
days. |
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6520.5
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A grievant who is not entitled to
appeal to the Board may seek discretionary review by submitting a written appeal
to the superintendent’s office within ten (10) school days following the
written response from the superintendent at Step II. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board shall
review the request and notify the grievant within ten (10) school days from
receipt of the request whether the Board will grant a hearing. If the Chair and Vice-chair do not agree on
whether to grant the request, a Board hearing will be allowed. The procedures outlined in section 6520.4
will be followed in any hearing granted under this section. |
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6520.4
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The Superintendent shall
disseminate policy 6520 to students at the beginning of each school year. |
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6520.5
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If the school system fails to
comply with the time periods or other procedures outlined in this policy, the
grievant may advance the grievance to the next level. If the grievant fails to comply with the
time periods or other procedures outlined in this policy, the grievant waives
any further rights of appeal and the grievance will be considered resolved. |
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6520.6
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The grievance may be voluntarily
withdrawn at any level. Once a
grievance is withdrawn it cannot be re-opened. If at any time during the grievance process
the school system grants the grievant the relief requested, the grievance shall
be terminated at that time. |
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Legal Reference: Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, G.S. 115C-45(c) |
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Adopted: August 9, 1976 |
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Revised: May 20, 1991 |
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Revised: June 26, 2000 |
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Revised: June 25, 2001 |
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Revised: December 4, 2001 |
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Revised: November 15, 2002 |
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Revised: February 18, 2003 |
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