ARTICLE VI - TEACHER-ASSOCIATION RIGHTS

SECTION A - EFFORT TO RESOLVE COMPLAINT

1. If a complaint is received by the Administration against a teacher which, if corroborated, could reasonably be anticipated to result in disciplinary action against that teacher, an attempt shall first be made to resolve the issue through verbal communication between the parties. Failing such resolution within a reasonable time period, any complainant or the teacher may request a conference to which all the parties shall be invited and at which the principal and the teacher shall be present. If the complaint is still unresolved, the complainant shall be requested to provide a written, signed complaint, a copy of which shall be promptly made available by the Administration to the teacher, who shall concurrently acknowledge its receipt. The teacher may respond in writing to such complaint, and if submitted in a timely fashion, such response shall be added to the teacher’s personnel file. Following the completion of any investigatory procedures (which shall include an appropriate Weingarten notice to the teacher); the Administration shall provide the teacher with a written summary of the complaint, which the teacher shall promptly acknowledge. If the complainant is a student, his/her parents or legal guardian may accompany the student at any step of this process.

2. Except as otherwise legally required, the consideration of any complaint against a teacher by the Board of Education shall be in closed session, and the Board of Education, Administration, teachers and teacher representatives shall respect the confidential nature of this proceeding and the privacy interests of the parties involved.