Date Adopted: 16 June 2021   

Current Review / Revision: December 10, 2025

       

The purpose of this policy is to outline procedures to facilitate solutions at the lowest level for public complaints.

 

Policy

•        All complaints from members of the public are to be resolved at the lowest possible level (staff member, staff supervisor, principal, etc) and shall be addressed in a timely manner.

•        Formal complaints are made via the Patron Complaint Form and are resolved at the lowest level.

•        Patron complaint forms are to be acknowledged by the receiving employee or supervisor. This may be done by letter, personal contact, phone call, email or other digital method within 15 calendar days of the event or action that is the subject of the complaint.

•        The District does not share details of disciplinary actions or staff remediation with the public.

•        The Board is the final arbiter for complaints that are not resolved at a lower level.

•        Anonymous letters or unsigned patron complaint forms will be treated as an informal complaint.

 

Student / Parent Complaints

•        Students or parents with individual complaints should first address the staff member involved.

•        Matters that are unresolved after staff member contact should be addressed to the principal. This may be done as an informal or formal complaint. 

•        Matters that are unresolved at the school level may be directed as a formal complaint to the District. Such complaints shall be submitted as a written complaint that includes a description of the complaint, the solution sought, and the date of the conference(s) with the administrator which will be reviewed by the Superintendent and assigned to the appropriate district office staff member for investigation.

•        If the outcome of the conference with the Superintendent or designee is not to the citizen's satisfaction, the citizen may present the complaint to the Board at the next regular meeting.

The Board shall designate a portion of its regular monthly meeting to hear citizen complaints. The Board may set reasonable time limits on complaint presentation. The Board shall listen to the complaint but is not required to respond or take action on the matter unless the complaint is from an aggrieved party, as defined below.

Aggrieved parties—

An “aggrieved party” is a citizen who has allegedly suffered a violation of a constitutional, statutory, or common law right, or a violation of a rule adopted by the State Board of Education or public complaint policy adopted by the Board.

Closed meeting—

If the complaint involves complaints or charges about an employee of the school district, the complaint shall be heard by the Board in a closed meeting unless the employee allegedly involved in the complaint requests a public meeting to review the complaint.

           Utah Code § 52-4-205(1)(a) (2025)

 

 

School Complaints

•        General complaints about a school or school climate should be directed to the principal. This may be done informally or formally. Formal complaints should be submitted to the principal.

•        Matters unresolved at the school level may be directed to the Superintendent as a formal complaint. The Superintendent will assign the appropriate district office staff member to investigate. 

 

Personnel Complaints

•        If feasible, the complainant is encouraged to bring the complaint to the individual concerned.

•        If the problem cannot be resolved directly with the individual concerned, it should be brought to the attention of that staff member's immediate supervisor.

•        The subject of the complaint shall be given the opportunity to provide an explanation and presentation of the facts, as he or she perceives them.

•        If the issue is not resolved by involvement of the immediate supervisor, the complainant may file a formal complaint to the principal or department supervisor.

•        If the subject of the complaint is a principal or department supervisor, the complaint should be submitted to the appropriate district supervisor. If the subject of the complaint is a district supervisor, the complaint should be submitted to the Superintendent.

•        The Board will only address complaints regarding personnel matters after the issue has been addressed by school and district administration, or if the issue involves the Superintendent.

 

Extracurricular Complaints

•        Parents or students will direct complaints directly to the coach/advisor. If the complaint involves a specific incident, the parent or student will ask for a meeting with the coach/advisor at least 24 hours after the incident occurred.  If a student is physically injured during an extracurricular activity, the parents may request an exception to the 24-hour rule and schedule a meeting with the coach/advisor and school administrator. 

•        If the parent and coach/advisor cannot come to an agreement, the parent may request a meeting with the school athletic director or other principal-designated personnel.

•        If the parent and athletic director/other personnel cannot come to an agreement, the parent may request a meeting with the building administrator.

•        If the parent and building administrator cannot come to an agreement, the parent may file a formal complaint to the District. The Superintendent will assign the appropriate district office staff member to investigate. 

•        If the parent and District cannot come to an agreement through the results of the investigation, the parent may request a meeting with the Board.

 

Previous Revision: 12 February 2025

 

 

 

Emery County School District

Public Complaint Resolution Request Form

 

 

Name(s): ____________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________

Email Address: ___________________________________    Phone Number: _____________________________

Preferred Form of Communication: ________________________________________________________________

Nature of Complaint / Incident (include dates & names of individuals involved): _____________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Steps Already Taken to Resolve Concerns: __________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Requested Resolution: __________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Signature: _______________________________________________       Date: ___________________________