Uniform Complaint and Williams Complaint Procedures
Uniform Complaint Procedures
September 2020 REVISED
The Claremont Unified School District annually notifies our students, employees, parents or guardians of its students, the district advisory committee, school advisory committees, appropriate private school officials, and other interested parties of our Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) process.
The UCP Annual Notice is available on our website.
We are primarily responsible for compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, including those related to unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying against any protected group, and all programs and activities that are subject to the UCP.
Programs and Activities Subject to the UCP
· Accommodations for Pregnant and Parenting Pupils
· Adult Education
· After School Education and Safety
· Agricultural Career Technical Education
· Career Technical and Technical Education and Career Technical and Technical Training Programs
· Child Care and Development Programs
· Compensatory Education
· Consolidated Categorical Aid Programs
· Course Periods without Educational Content
· Educational and graduation requirements for pupils in foster care, pupils who are homeless, pupils from military families and pupils formerly in Juvenile Court now enrolled in a school district
· Every Student Succeeds Act
· Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP)
· Migrant Education
· Physical Education Instructional Minutes
· Pupil Fees
· Reasonable Accommodations to a Lactating Pupil
· Regional Occupational Centers and Programs
· School Plans for Student Achievement
· School Safety Plans
· Schoolsite Councils
· State Preschool
· State Preschool Health and Safety Issues in LEAs Exempt from Licensing
· Discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying against any protected group as identified under sections 200 and 220 and Section 11135 of the Government Code, including any actual or perceived characteristic as set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code, or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution, as defined in Section 210.3, that is funded directly by, or that receives or benefits from, any state financial assistance.
And any other state or federal educational program the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) of the California Department of Education (CDE) or designee deems appropriate.
Filing a UCP Complaint
A UCP complaint shall be filed no later than one year from the date the alleged violation occurred.
For complaints relating to Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP), the date of the alleged violation is the date when the reviewing authority approves the LCAP or annual update that was adopted by our agency.
A pupil enrolled in any of our public schools shall not be required to pay a pupil fee for participation in an educational activity.
A pupil fee complaint may be filed with the principal of a school or our superintendent or their designee.
A pupil fee or LCAP complaint may be filed anonymously, that is, without an identifying signature, if the complainant provides evidence or information leading to evidence to support an allegation of noncompliance.
Responsibilities of the Claremont Unified School District
We shall post a standardized notice, in addition to this notice, with educational and graduation requirements for pupils in foster care, pupils who are homeless, pupils from military families and pupils formerly in Juvenile Court now enrolled in a school district.
We advise complainants of the opportunity to appeal an Investigation Report of complaints regarding programs within the scope of the UCP to the Department of Education (CDE).
We advise complainants of civil law remedies, including injunctions, restraining orders, or other remedies or orders that may be available under state or federal discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying laws, if applicable.
Copies of our UCP procedures shall be available free of charge.
Contact Information
Complaints within the scope of the UCP are to be filed with the person responsible for processing complaints:
Kevin Ward
Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
170 W. San Jose Ave
Claremont, CA 91711
Phone: 909-398-0617 x70301
Fax: 909-398-0622
kward@cusd.claremont.edu
The above contact is knowledgeable about the laws and programs that they are assigned to investigate in the Claremont Unified School District.
Williams Complaint Procedures
May 2020 REVISED
Notice to Parents, Guardians, Pupils, and Teachers
1. There should be sufficient textbooks and instructional materials. That means each pupil, including English learners, must have a textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to take home.
2. School facilities must be clean, safe, and maintained in good repair.
3. There should be no teacher vacancies or misassignments. There should be a teacher assigned to each class and not a series of substitutes or other temporary teachers. The teacher should have the proper credential to teach the class, including the certification required to teach English learners if present.
Teacher 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.
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.
4. A complaint form may be obtained at the school office, district office, or downloaded from the school’s Web site.
You may also download a copy of the Sample Williams Complaint Form in English and in other languages from the California Department of Education Web site.
Filing a Williams Complaint
A Williams complaint, concerning deficiencies related to instructional materials, conditions of facilities that are not maintained in a clean or safe manner or in good repair, or teacher vacancy or misassignment, shall be filed with the principal (or designee) of the school in which the Williams-issue allegedly occurred. A Williams complaint may be filed anonymously and a complainant need not use a Williams Complaint document to file a complaint.
Should a complainant choose to directly file a Williams complaint at a school in which a Williams-issue allegedly occurred an LEA shall include all of the following language in its Williams Complaint document.
This document is for LEAs to make available to anyone who wants to file a complaint regarding an alleged deficiency related to instructional materials, conditions of facilities that are not maintained in a clean or safe manner or in good repair, or teacher vacancy or misassignment. The use of this particular sample is not required. This sample contains elements required by California Education Code (EC) Section 35186 and 5 CCR sections 4600-4687.
If Education Code Section 48985 is applicable and 15 percent or more of the pupils in grades K – 12 enrolled in your LEA speak a language other than English, the Williams Complaint document shall be written in English and in the primary language of the complainant. Translations for this sample are available free of charge on the webpage of the Categorical Programs Complaint Mangement (CPCM) office at the California Department of Education (CDE).
For Filing Williams Complaints
California Education Code (EC) Section 35186 created a procedure for the filing of complaints concerning deficiencies related to instructional materials, conditions of facilities that are not maintained in a clean or safe manner or in good repair, and teacher vacancy or misassignment. The complaint and response are public documents as provided by statute. Complaints may be filed anonymously. However, if you wish to receive a response, you must provide the following contact information.
Is a response requested – yes or no?
Name:
Mailing Address:
Phone Number:
Issue of complaint:
Textbooks and Instructional Materials
A pupil, including an English learner, does not have standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials or state-adopted or district-adopted textbooks or other required instructional materials to use in class.
A pupil does not have access to textbooks or instructional materials to use at home or after school. This does not require two sets of textbooks or instructional materials for each pupil.
Textbooks or instructional materials are in poor or unusable condition, have missing pages, or are unreadable due to damage.
A pupil was provided photocopied sheets from only a portion of a textbook or instructional materials to address a shortage of textbooks or instructional materials.
Facility Conditions
A condition poses an urgent or emergency threat to the health or safety of students or staff, including: 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, structural damage creating a hazardous or uninhabitable condition, and any other emergency conditions the school district determines appropriate.
A school restroom has not been maintained or cleaned regularly, is not fully operational and has not been stocked at all times with toilet paper, soap, and paper towels or functional hand dryers.
The school has not kept all restrooms open during school hours when pupils are not in classes and has not kept a sufficient number of restrooms open during school hours when pupils are in classes.
Teacher Vacancy or Misassignment
Teacher vacancy - A semester begins and a teacher vacancy exists. (A teacher vacancy is 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.)
Teacher misassignment - 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.
Teacher misassignment - A teacher is assigned to teach a class for which the teacher lacks subject matter competency.
The complainant adds the following information:
Date of Problem:
Location of problem:
School name:
Address:
Room number:
Course or Grade Level and Teacher Name:
Describe complaint in detail. You may include as much text as necessary:
File this complaint with the principal of the school or his/her designee in which the complaint occurred:
Location:
Address:
A complaint about problems beyond the authority of the principal shall be forwarded within 10 working days to the appropriate school district official for resolution.
