School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Regulation 7-11.1

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Complaints from the Public: Americans with Disabilities Act - Grievance Procedure

A.  Application

The School Board of the City of Virginia Beach has adopted a grievance procedure providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action prohibited by the U.S. Department of Justice regulations implementing Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Title II states, in part, that "no otherwise qualified disabled individual shall, solely by reason of such disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination" in programs or activities sponsored by a public entity.

The School Board of the City of Virginia Beach has two established grievance procedures to address complaints of employment discrimination on the basis of a disability. If a school board employee feels he or she has been discriminated against under the Americans With Disabilities Act, the employee may file a complaint through the employee grievance procedure or may utilize the specific Americans With Disabilities Act grievance procedure described below.

If citizens believe they do not have access to, or feel they have been discriminated against by a school board service, program, or activity, the citizens may utilized the Americans With Disabilities Act grievance procedure described below.

B.  Procedure

Complaints should be addressed to the Director of Governmental Relations and Quality Control, ADA Compliance Coordinator, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, 2512 George Mason Drive, P.O. Box 6038, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23456, telephone (804) 426-5735 (Voice), (804) 427-8201 (TDD).

1.  A complaint should be filed in writing or verbally, contain the name and address of the person filing it, and briefly describe the alleged violation of the regulations.

2.  A complaint should be filed as soon as possible but no later than 180 days after the complainant becomes aware of the alleged violation.

3.  The ADA Compliance Coordinator, or her designee, will contact the citizen within ten (10) working days of the date the complaint is filed to discuss resolution of the issue. An investigation, as may be appropriate, shall follow a filing of the complaint. The investigation shall be conducted by the ADA Compliance Coordinator or designee. These rules contemplate informal but thorough investigations, affording all interested persons and their representatives, if any, an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to a complaint.

4.  A written determination as to the validity of the complaint and a description of the resolution, if any, shall be issued by the ADA Compliance Coordinator and a copy forwarded to the complainant.

5.  The complainant can request a reconsideration of the case in instances where he or she is dissatisfied with the resolution. The request for a reconsideration should be made within ten days to the Division Superintendent, and a decision will be made within 30 days of the Division Superintendent's receipt of the complaint. The decision of the Division Superintendent is final.

6.  The ADA Coordinator shall maintain the files and records of the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach relating to the complaints filed pursuant to this grievance procedure.

7.  The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint filed herein shall not be impaired by the person's pursuit of other remedies such as the filing of the ADA complaint with the Department of Justice or other appropriate federal, state, or local agencies or the filing of a suit in state or federal court. Use of this grievance procedure is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.

8. These rules shall be construed to protect the substantive rights of interested persons to meet appropriate due process standards and to ensure that the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach complies with the ADA and its implementing regulations.

 

Approved by Superintendent:  November 16, 1993