Complaint Procedure
Complaints shall be processed in accordance with the following procedures.
Any individual, who believes he/she has been subject to harassment by an administrator, faculty member, staff member, full or part-time employee, contracted service employee, volunteer or student, shall be encouraged to report the incident to the Building Principal. If the Building Principal is the subject of a complaint, the student or third party shall report the incident directly to the Superintendent/Compliance Officer.
The complainant is encouraged to use the Report Form for Complaints of Unlawful Harassment (available below) or from the Building Principal, but oral complaints shall be acceptable.
Upon receiving a complaint of unlawful harassment or hate speech, the Building Principal shall immediately notify the Superintendent/Compliance Officer. The Superintendent/Compliance Officer shall authorize the Building Principal to investigate the complaint, unless the Building Principal is the subject of the complaint or is unable to conduct the investigation.
For all incidents of sexual assault, the Building Principal shall contact the local police force and Pennsylvania ChildLine and Abuse Registry.
The Building Principal shall investigate the complaint thoroughly, generally after notification to the parent(s)/guardian(s), and attempt to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of the parties involved. The Building Principal is charged with the responsibility to notify the Superintendent/Compliance Officer of every allegation or rumor of improper employee/student harassment. The Building Principal will conduct the investigation with confidentiality and impartiality, and evaluate complaints which might be irresponsible, unfounded or involve misperceptions of fact or intent.
Each complainant and the accused shall be informed that he/she:
- may be accompanied by a parent/guardian during all steps of the complaint procedure.
- has the right to present witness(es), evidence, and/or written statement(s).
The investigation may consist of individual interviews with the complainant, the accused and others with knowledge relevant to the incident. The investigator may also evaluate any other information and materials relevant to the investigation. The obligation to conduct the investigation shall be negated by the fact that a criminal investigation of the incident is pending or has been concluded.
A written report of the investigation shall be submitted to the Superintendent/Compliance Officer within fifteen (15) days of the date of the initial complaint, unless additional time to complete the investigation is required.
A written report of the investigation’s outcome shall be provided to either side of the complaint unless the disclosure of such information is prohibited by federal or state law.