Recognizing that grievances should begin and should be
settled promptly, a grievance must be initiated within 15 business days
following either the event giving rise to the grievance, or within 15 business
days following the time when the employee knew or reasonably should have known
of its occurrence. Grievances shall be processed as follows:
1. Step 1 -- Informal. The first step shall
be an informal conference between the teacher and his immediate supervisor
(which may be the principal). The teacher shall state the nature of the
grievance, and the immediate supervisor shall attempt to adjust the grievance.
It is mandatory that the teacher present the grievance informally prior to
proceeding to Step 2.
2. Step 2 --
Principal. If for any reason the grievance is not resolved informally in Step 1
to the satisfaction of the teacher, the teacher must perfect his grievance by
filing a written grievance appeal on the required form within 15 business days
following the event giving rise to the grievance, or within 15 business days
following the time when the employee knew or reasonably should have known of
its occurrence, specifying on the form the specific relief expected. Regardless
of the outcome of Step 1, if a written grievance appeal is not, without just
cause, filed within the specified time, the grievance will be barred.
A meeting shall be held between the principal (or his
designee or both) and the teacher (or his designee or both) within five
business days of the receipt by the principal of the written grievance. At such
meeting the teacher or other party involved, or both, shall be entitled to
present appropriate witnesses and to be accompanied by a representative other
than an attorney. The principal (or his designee or both) shall respond in
writing within five business days following such meeting.
The principal may forward to the teacher within five days
from the receipt of the written grievance a written request for more specific
information regarding the grievance. The teacher shall file an answer thereto
within 10 business days, and the meeting must then be held within five business
days thereafter.
3. Step 3
-- Superintendent. If the grievance is not settled to the teacher's
satisfaction in Step 2, the teacher can proceed to Step 3 by filing a written
notice of appeal with the superintendent, accompanied by the original written
grievance appeal form within five business days after receipt of the Step 2
answer (or the due date of such answer). A meeting shall then be held between
the superintendent (or his designee or both) and the teacher (or his designee
or both) at a mutually agreeable time within five business days. The
superintendent or designee may make a written request for more specific
information from the teacher, but only if such information was not requested in
Step 2. The teacher shall file an answer to such request within 10 business
days, and the meeting shall be held within five business days of the date on
which the answer was received. At such meeting both the superintendent and the
teacher shall be entitled to present witnesses and to be accompanied by a
representative who may be an attorney. A representative may examine,
cross-examine, question, and present evidence on behalf of a grievant or the
superintendent without violating the provisions of §
54.1-3904 of the Code of
Virginia. If no settlement can be reached in said meeting, the superintendent
(or his designee) shall respond in writing within five business days following
such meeting. If the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of the
teacher in Step 3, the teacher may request a decision by the school board
pursuant to Step 4.
4. Step 4 --
Decision by the school board.
a. If a teacher
elects to request a decision by the school board as provided for in Step 3, he
must notify the superintendent in writing of the intention to make the request
of the board within five business days after receipt of the answer as required
in Step 3 or the due date thereof. Upon receipt of such notice, the board may
hold a hearing on the grievance, may elect to have the hearing conducted by a
hearing officer appointed by the school board consistent with the procedures in
§
22.1-311 of the Code of
Virginia, or may make its determination on the basis of the written evidence
presented by the teacher and the recommendation of the
superintendent.
b. In any case in
which the school board elects to hold a hearing or elects to have a hearing
officer conduct the hearing, the hearing shall be set within 30 days of the
school board's receipt of the notice required by subdivision 4 a of this
section (Step 4a), and the teacher must be given at least 15 days' written
notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing.
The teacher and the division superintendent may be
represented by legal counsel or other representatives. The hearing shall be
private, unless the teacher requests a public hearing. The school board or the
hearing officer, as the case may be, shall establish the rules for the conduct
of the hearing. Such rules shall include the opportunity for the teacher and
the division superintendent to make an opening statement and to present all
material or relevant evidence, including the testimony of witnesses and the
right of all parties or their representatives to cross-examine the witnesses.
Witnesses may be questioned by the school board or the hearing officer.
In the case of a hearing conducted by the school board,
the school board's attorney, assistants, or representative, if he or they
represented a participant in the prior proceedings, the grievant, the
grievant's attorney or representative and, notwithstanding the provisions of
§
22.1-69 of the Code of Virginia,
the superintendent shall be excluded from any executive session of the school
board that has as its purpose reaching a decision on the grievance. However,
immediately after a decision has been made and publicly announced, as in favor
of or not in favor of the grievant, the school board's attorney or
representative, and the superintendent, may join the school board in executive
session to assist in the writing of the decision.
A stenographic record or tape recording of the hearing
shall be taken. However, the recording may be dispensed with entirely by mutual
consent of the parties. If the recording is not dispensed with, the two parties
shall share the cost of the recording equally, and if either party requests a
transcript, that party shall bear the expense of its preparation.
c. In the event of a hearing
conducted by a hearing officer, the recommendation of the hearing officer shall
be based exclusively upon the evidence presented at the hearing. Upon the
hearing officer's own motion or upon application by either party to the
grievance, the hearing officer may reopen the hearing for the purpose of
hearing after-discovered evidence upon a finding of good cause by the hearing
officer at any time before his recommendation is due. The hearing officer shall
transmit his written recommendation and a record or recording of the hearing to
the school board as soon as practicable and no more than 10 business days after
the hearing.
d. In the event of a
hearing by a hearing officer, the school board may make its decision upon the
record or recording of such hearing or the school board may elect to conduct a
further hearing to receive additional evidence. The school board must hold such
further hearing as soon as practicable and must give written notice of the time
and place of such further hearing to the division superintendent and the
teacher within 10 business days after the board received the record or
recording of the initial hearing. The notice must specify each matter to be
inquired into by the school board. The school board shall determine the
procedure to be followed at such further hearing.
e. In the event of a hearing before the
school board, the school board shall give the teacher its written decision as
soon as practicable and no more than 30 days after the hearing. The decision of
the school board shall be reached after considering the evidence and
information presented at the school board hearing.
f. In the event of a hearing before a hearing
officer followed by a further hearing by the school board, the school board
shall give the teacher its written decision as soon as practicable and no more
than 30 days after such further hearing. The decision of the school board shall
be reached after considering the record or recording of the initial hearing,
the recommendations of the hearing officer, and the evidence and information
presented at the further hearing before the school board.
g. In the event of a hearing before a hearing
officer in cases in which no further hearing is conducted by the school board,
the school board shall give the teacher its written decision as soon as
practicable and no more than 30 days after receiving the record or recording of
the hearing. The decision of the school board shall be reached after
considering the record or recording of the hearing and the recommendations of
the hearing officer.
h. The school
board shall retain its exclusive final authority over matters concerning
employment and the supervision of its personnel.
