FILE:  GAE

 

COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES

 

 

The following grievance procedure is established to provide a way for the Caddo Parish School Board and its employees to resolve a grievance that may occur between them.  It is the intent of this procedure to provide a simple, straightforward way to resolve grievances at the lowest possible administrative level, as fairly and as quickly as possible.

 

No reprisals of any kind shall be taken by the School Board or by any member of the Administration against the grievant or any other participant in the grievance procedure by reason of such participation.

 

Grievances should be processed in a manner that does not interfere with the employee's work and the normal operation of the school system.

 

It is understood that employees have legitimate questions that pertain to their jobs and are not necessarily grievances.  If it is determined that a claim brought pursuant to this policy does not meet the definition of grievance the employee shall be notified.  The personnel department always stands ready to assist employees in finding solutions to their problems.

 

Part I.  Definition

 

  1. Board  Board shall mean the Caddo Parish School Board

  2. Employee  Employee(s) shall mean any person(s) regularly employed by the Caddo Parish School Board, either full or part-time.

  3. Grievance  Grievance shall mean a claim by an employee of the violation, misinterpretation or inequitable application of any of the School Board policies, rules or regulations under which such employee works.  The term "grievance" shall not apply in any manner in which (1) a method of review is not prescribed by law, or (2) the School Board is without authority to act.  The term “grievance” shall not include a review of employee evaluations which are provided for in the personnel evaluation plan.

  4. Days  Days shall mean school days or work days.  The days at each level may be extended by mutual agreement of persons involved in resolving the grievance.

  5. Immediate Supervisor  Immediate supervisor means the principal or that employee possessing supervisory and administrative authority next in rank above the grievant.

  6. Transcript  A written, printed, or typed copy of the testimony.

 

Part II Procedure

 

If at all possible the employee who has a grievance should first make every effort to have it settled through a conference with his/her immediate supervisor prior to filing an official grievance.

 

Level One

 

  1. Grievant(s) shall make a request for formal resolution of the grievance to the appropriate immediate supervisor within five (5) working days of the occurrence of the event upon which it is based.  If the request is not submitted within the time prescribed, the employee shall have no further right with respect to the claim or grievance.

  2. Within five (5) working days of the receipt of the grievance the immediate supervisor and the grievant(s) shall meet to attempt to resolve the grievance.  The immediate supervisor shall receive, investigate and consider information from all affected parties he/she believes is necessary to resolve the complaint.

  3. Within five (5) working days following the meeting between the grievant(s), and immediate supervisor, the immediate supervisor shall deliver his written decision by hand to the grievant(s) if possible.  If not, the decision shall be sent by certified mail return receipt requested.  The immediate supervisor shall document the date(s) of Grievant’s receipt of the written decision.

 

Level Two

 

  1. If the grievant(s) is not satisfied with the disposition at Level One, then within five (5) working days of receipt of the decision, the grievant(s) may appeal the Level One disposition by submitting a written request to the Superintendent’s office.  If the request is not submitted to the Superintendent’s office within the time prescribed, the grievant(s) shall have no further right with respect to the claim or grievance.

  2. The Superintendent or his designee shall schedule a meeting with the grievant(s) within ten (10) working days after the appeal is lodged in the Superintendent’s office. Notice of the Level Two conference shall be given to the grievant(s) as well as to the individual(s) who rendered the decision at Level One.  Documentation from the Level One conference is to be presented as well as any other pertinent file materials.

  3. Within five (5) working days following the Level Two conference the Superintendent or designee shall deliver his written decision by hand to the grievant(s) if possible.  If not, the decision shall be sent to grievant(s) by certified mail return receipt requested.  Copies of the decision shall be sent to the other decision makers and affected parties.  The Superintendent or designee shall document the date(s) of grievant’s receipt of the written decision.

 

Level Three

 

  1. If the grievant(s) is not satisfied with the Level Two disposition, the grievant may within five (5) working days of the date of receipt of the Level Two decision request a full hearing before the Superintendent or designee of the grievance.  If the request is not submitted to the Superintendent’s office within the time prescribed, the grievant(s) shall have no further right with respect to the claim or grievance.

  2. The Superintendent or designee shall schedule the full hearing with grievant(s) within twenty (20) working days of the request for a full 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 grievance.  The hearing is an informal meeting or hearing controlled by the Superintendent or designee.  The purpose of the hearing is to resolve the grievance.  The hearing shall be recorded by the Superintendent or designee.  A transcript shall be provided if the matter is not resolved prior to the matter being presented to the School Board.  At the conclusion of the hearing, the Superintendent or designee shall make a written recommendation to the School Board for disposition of the grievance at a meeting of the School Board but not more than thirty (30) working days following the hearing.  The matter is then placed on the agenda for disposition by the School Board.

 

School Board Administrative Procedure

 

Administration shall provide a copy of the superintendent’s or superintendent’s designee’s written recommendation for disposition of the grievance, a copy of the transcript, the grievance form and all reasons for decisions at all levels, all supporting, rebutting and investigation documentation at all levels, affidavits, and memorandum of counsel if applicable to the School Board and the grievant on the Monday one week prior to the appeal hearing date (mail out deadline).  If the grievant would like to submit any additional documents (briefs or arguments only – no new evidence) for review by the School Board, they must present the documents to the Superintendent no later than noon on the Friday before the mail out deadline.  All documents are to be maintained in confidence.  All documents must be presented utilizing this process or the School Board will not consider the documents.  The School Board appeal packet containing this information shall be made available to the School Board on BoardDocs or by hard copy as requested by School Board members.  The Caddo Parish School Board will dispose of the grievance without argument from the parties unless the School Board votes otherwise.  If the School Board votes to allow oral argument, the matter shall be rescheduled to allow the parties time to prepare.

 

Oral Argument

 

If the School Board allows oral argument, the following procedures shall be followed:

 

The School Board President shall allow School Board counsel to outline all rules for participants and provide recommended rulings to the School Board regarding objections and other matters raised by the participants.

 

The grievant and administration will each have ten (10) minutes to present argument.  Grievant shall make his/her argument first followed by administration.  Grievant may reserve any portion of his/her argument time for rebuttal.

 

Once oral arguments are completed, the School Board President will ask each School Board member whether they have any questions of the grievant or administration.  Questions are limited to two (2) questions per School Board member and are not intended to solicit evidence not presented in the School Board appeal packet.  The School Board President will call on each School Board member who desires to ask a question.  Appropriate decorum shall be maintained at all times.  Inappropriate references to employees or their representatives shall not be allowed and will be called out of order and not tolerated.

 

The School Board President shall then ask for the Superintendent’s recommendation.

 

Any person whose competency or character will be discussed shall be given notice at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the appeal hearing.  Any person whose competency or character will be discussed shall have the opportunity to have the matter discussed in closed executive session.

 

Disposition

 

The Caddo Parish School Board shall dispose of the grievance in open session.  Once a motion is made to dispose of the grievance in open session, there shall be no discussion regarding the motion except to clarify the motion.  The Caddo Parish School Board may affirm, reverse or modify the recommendation of the superintendent.

 

General Matters

 

  1. Whenever the Human Resources Executive director, superintendent or superintendent’s designee accesses the personnel file of a grievant, the Human Resources Executive Director, the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee shall provide notice of the fact and the name and title of the person who was permitted access to the grievant’s personnel file.

  2. If the School Board will consider matters contained within the personnel file of the grievant, the School Board must vote to access the personnel file of the grievant unless the grievant consents to School Board member access and signs the appropriate waiver.  If grievant does not consent to School Board member access, the School Board will place the matter on the agenda to vote regarding accessing the grievant’s personnel file at the next regularly scheduled School Board meeting.  The School Board hearing will then be placed on the agenda for the following regularly scheduled School Board meeting.

  3. The individual School Board members shall maintain confidentiality of the personnel documents accessed.  Written notice regarding the School Board members’ access to the grievant’s personnel file shall be sent to the grievant.

  4. A grievant is entitled to representation of his/her choice at all levels of these procedures after Level One.  The grievant who chooses to have a representative, shall provide advance notice of the name of the representative and whether the representative is an attorney at least five (5) working days prior to a meeting or scheduled hearing.

 

Adopted:  February 21, 2017

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:100.4

Pickering v. Board of Education, 88 S. Ct. 1731 (1968)

Board minutes, 6-19-74, 2-6-85, 12-16-87, 11-1-89, 12-13-95, 4-15-98, 6-18-02, 6-15-04, 12-20-05, 12-14-10, 5-17-11, 2-21-17

 

Caddo Parish School Board