Read the statement, learn who will hear complaints, and understand the procedure.
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION AND INTERNAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURES
(INCLUDING TITLE VI, TITLE VII, AND TITLE IX)
Nondiscrimination
The Board does not discriminate on the basis of race; color; religion; national origin; ancestry; creed; pregnancy; genetic information; marital status; parental status; sexual orientation; sex (including transgender status, change of sex, or gender identity); or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability (“Protected Classes”) in its programs or activities.
The Board is also committed to equal employment opportunity in its employment policies and practices as they relate to students. The Board’s policies pertaining to employment practices can be found in Policy 1422, Policy 3122, and Policy 4122 – Nondiscrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity.
Further, it is the policy of the Board to maintain an educational environment that is free from all forms of unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment. This commitment applies to all District operations, programs, and activities. All students, administrators, teachers, staff, and all other school personnel share responsibility for avoiding, discouraging, and reporting any form of unlawful harassment. This policy applies to unlawful conduct occurring on school property, or at another location if such conduct occurs during an activity sponsored by the Board.
The Board will not tolerate any form of harassment and will take all necessary and appropriate actions to eliminate it, including suspension or expulsion of students and disciplinary action against any other individual in the School District community. Additionally, appropriate action will be taken to stop and otherwise deal with any third party who engages in harassment against our students.
The Board will vigorously enforce its prohibition against harassment based on the traits of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, ancestry, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability, or any other characteristic protected by Federal or State civil rights laws (hereinafter referred to as unlawful harassment), and encourages those within the School District community as well as third parties, who feel aggrieved to seek assistance to rectify such problems. Additionally, harassment means behavior toward a student or group of students that substantially interferes with the student’s school or academic performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive school environment. Harassment may occur student-to-student, staff-to-student, male-to-female, female-to-male, male-to-male, or female-to-female. The Board will investigate all allegations of unlawful harassment and in those cases where unlawful harassment is substantiated, the Board will take immediate steps designed to end the harassment, prevent its reoccurrence, and remedy its effects. Individuals who are found to have engaged in unlawful harassment will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
This notice is provided to comply with the notice of nondiscrimination requirements for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (as amended), Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended), and is provided to students, their parents, staff members, and the general public for that purpose. The District is required by law to comply with the nondiscrimination and harassment provisions of these laws.
Complaint Procedure
If a person who believes that s/he has been discriminated/harassed/retaliated against or denied equal opportunity or access to the District’s programs, activities, or services, the person may utilize the following complaint procedures as a means of reaching, at the lowest possible administrative level, a prompt and equitable resolution of the matter. The following individual(s) is/are designated as the Title IX Coordinators/Compliance Officers.
Title IX Complaint Coordinators/Compliance Officers
Kerry Zdrojewski
School Counselor
N68 W33866 County Road K
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
262-966-2900 Ext. 2070
k.zdrojewski@stonebank.k12.wi.us
David Milz
Teacher
N68 W33866 County Road K
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
262-966-2900 Ext. 4320
d.milz@stonebank.k12.wi.us
Internal Complaint Procedures
Any employee who believes that s/he has been subjected to unlawful discrimination/retaliation may seek resolution of his/her complaint through the procedures described below.
Due to the sensitivity surrounding complaints of unlawful discrimination or retaliation, timelines are flexible for initiating the complaint process; however, individuals should make every effort to file a complaint within thirty (30) calendar days after the conduct occurs. Once the formal complaint process begins, the investigation will be completed in a timely manner (ordinarily, within fifteen (15) business days of the complaint being received).
The procedures set forth below are not intended to interfere with the rights of any individual to pursue a complaint of unlawful discrimination or retaliation with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division (“ERD”) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”).
Complaint Procedures
An individual who believes s/he has been subjected to unlawful discrimination/retaliation ("Complainant"), may file a complaint, either orally or in writing, with a principal, the CO, District Administrator, or other supervisory employee.
Complaints should include the following information to the extent it is available: the identity of the individual believed to have engaged in, or be engaging in, the discriminatory/retaliatory conduct; a detailed description of the facts upon which the complaint is based; a list of potential witnesses; and the resolution sought by the Complainant. If the Complainant is unwilling or unable to provide a written statement, the CO shall interview the Complainant and prepare a written summary of the oral interview, and ask the Complainant to verify the accuracy of the reported charge by signing the document.
Within two (2) business days of receiving the complaint, the CO will initiate an investigation to determine whether the Complainant has been subjected to unlawful discrimination/retaliation.
Simultaneously, the CO will inform the individual alleged to have engaged in the discriminatory/ retaliatory conduct ("Respondent"), that a complaint has been received. The Respondent will be informed about the nature of the allegations and provided with a copy of any relevant policies and/or administrative guidelines, including Policy 3122 – Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity. The Respondent must also be informed of the opportunity to submit a written response to the complaint within five (5) business days.
Although certain cases may require additional time, the CO will attempt to complete an investigation into the allegations of discrimination/retaliation within fifteen (15) business days of receiving the formal complaint. As part of the investigation, the CO will:
- interview the Complainant;
- interview the Respondent;
- interview any other witnesses who may reasonably be expected to have any information relevant to the allegations;
- consider any documentation or other information presented by the Complainant, Respondent, or any other witness that is reasonably believed to be relevant to the allegations.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the CO shall prepare and deliver a written report to the District Administrator that summarizes the evidence gathered during the investigation and provides recommendations based on the evidence and the definition of unlawful discrimination/retaliation as provided in Board policy and State and Federal law as to whether the Complainant has been subjected to unlawful discrimination/retaliation.
Absent extenuating circumstances, within five (5) business days of receiving the report of the CO, the District Administrator will either issue a final decision regarding whether the charges have been substantiated or request further investigation. A copy of the District Administrator's final decision will be delivered to both the Complainant and the Respondent.
If the District Administrator requests additional investigation, the District Administrator must specify the additional information that is to be gathered, and such additional investigation must be completed within five (5) business days. At the conclusion of the additional investigation, the District Administrator must issue a final written decision as described above.
If the District Administrator determines the Complainant was subjected to unlawful discrimination/retaliation, s/he must identify what corrective action will be taken to stop, remedy, and prevent the recurrence of the discrimination/retaliation. The corrective action should be reasonable, timely, age-appropriate and effective, and tailored to the specific situation.
A Complainant or Respondent who is dissatisfied with the District Administrator’s final decision may appeal through a signed written statement to the Board within five (5) business days of his/her receipt of the District Administrator's final decision.
In an attempt to resolve the complaint, the Board shall meet with the concerned parties and their representatives within twenty (20) business days of the receipt of such an appeal. At the Board’s discretion and as may be appropriate to the circumstances, the Board may meet separately with each of the concerned parties. A copy of the Board's disposition of the appeal shall be sent to each concerned party within ten (10) business days of this meeting. The decision of the Board will be final.
The complainant may be represented, at his/her own cost, at any of the above-described meetings/hearings.
The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint shall not be impaired by the person's pursuit of other remedies such as the filing of a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, ERD or EEOC, or the filing of a court case. Use of this internal complaint procedure is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.
The CO will provide a copy of the District's complaint procedure to any person who files a complaint and will investigate all complaints in accordance with this procedure.
A copy of each of the Acts and the regulations on which this notice is based may be found in the CO's office.
The complainant may be represented, at his/her own cost, at any of the above-described meetings/hearings.
The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint shall not be impaired by the person’s pursuit of other remedies such as the filing of a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights or the filing of a court case in the appropriate Federal District Court. Use of this internal complaint procedure is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.
The Civil Rights Coordinator will provide a copy of the District’s complaint procedure to any person who files a complaint and will investigate all complaints in accordance with this procedure.
A copy of each of the Acts and the regulations on which this notice is based may be found in the office of each building administrator.
Office For Civil Rights
Discrimination complaints may also be filed with the Federal government at the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661, Telephone: 312-730-1560, Fax: 312-730-2576, TDD: 877-521-2172, E-mail: OCR.Chicago.ed.gov, Web: www.ed.gov.
The complaint must generally be filed within 180 days of the date the discrimination occurred. You do not have to file a complaint with the District before filing a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, and you may file complaints with both the District and the Office for Civil Rights if you wish to do so.
Questions regarding Title IX may be referred to the District’s Title IX Coordinators/Compliance Officers or the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661, Telephone: 312-730-1560, Fax: 312-730-2576, TDD: 877-521-2172, E-mail: OCR.Chicago.ed.gov, Web: www.ed.gov.
Prohibition Against Retaliation
The Board will not discriminate against, coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any individual because the person opposed any act or practice made unlawful by any Federal civil rights law, or because that individual made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under those laws or because that individual exercised, enjoyed, aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or protected by those laws.
False Information
Any individual who knowingly files a false complaint or knowingly provides false information concerning a complaint shall be subject to disciplinary action.
