KE- Public Complaints

Date Adopted: 16 June 2021   

Current Review / Revision: 12 February 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.

•        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 will be reviewed by the Superintendent and assigned to the appropriate district office staff member for investigation.

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.

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: ___________________________