Revised September 2023

The Claremont Unified School District annually notifies our students, employees, parents or guardians of its students, the district advisory committee, school advisory committees, appropriate private school officials, and other interested parties of our Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) process.

The UCP Annual Notice is available on our website.

We are primarily responsible for compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, including those related to unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying against any protected group, and all programs and activities that are subject to the UCP.

Programs and Activities Subject to the UCP

·  Accommodations for Pregnant and Parenting Pupils

·  Adult Education

·  After School Education and Safety

·  Agricultural Career Technical Education

·  Career Technical and Technical Education and Career Technical and Technical Training Programs

·  Child Care and Development Programs

·  Compensatory Education

·  Consolidated Categorical Aid Programs

·  Course Periods without Educational Content

·  Educational and graduation requirements for pupils in foster care, pupils who are homeless, pupils from military families and pupils formerly in Juvenile Court now enrolled in a school district

·  Every Student Succeeds Act

·  Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP)

·  Migrant Education

·  Physical Education Instructional Minutes

·  Pupil Fees

·  Reasonable Accommodations to a Lactating Pupil

·  Regional Occupational Centers and Programs

·  School Plans for Student Achievement

·  School Safety Plans

·  Schoolsite Councils

·  State Preschool

·  State Preschool Health and Safety Issues in LEAs Exempt from Licensing

·  Discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying against any protected group as identified under sections 200 and 220 and Section 11135 of the Government Code, including any actual or perceived characteristic as set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code, or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution, as defined in Section 210.3, that is funded directly by, or that receives or benefits from, any state financial assistance.

And any other state or federal educational program the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) of the California Department of Education (CDE) or designee deems appropriate.

Filing a UCP Complaint

A UCP complaint shall be filed no later than one year from the date the alleged violation occurred.

For complaints relating to Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP), the date of the alleged violation is the date when the reviewing authority approves the LCAP or annual update that was adopted by our agency.

A pupil enrolled in any of our public schools shall not be required to pay a pupil fee for participation in an educational activity.

A pupil fee complaint may be filed with the principal of a school or our superintendent or their designee.

A pupil fee or LCAP complaint may be filed anonymously, that is, without an identifying signature, if the complainant provides evidence or information leading to evidence to support an allegation of noncompliance.

Responsibilities of the Claremont Unified School District

We shall post a standardized notice, in addition to this notice, with educational and graduation requirements for pupils in foster care, pupils who are homeless, pupils from military families and pupils formerly in Juvenile Court now enrolled in a school district.

We advise complainants of the opportunity to appeal an Investigation Report of complaints regarding programs within the scope of the UCP to the Department of Education (CDE).

We advise complainants of civil law remedies, including injunctions, restraining orders, or other remedies or orders that may be available under state or federal discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying laws, if applicable.

Copies of our UCP procedures shall be available free of charge.

Contact Information

Complaints within the scope of the UCP are to be filed with the person responsible for processing complaints:

Ann O'Connor
Director, Human Resources and Risk Management

170 W. San Jose Ave

Claremont, CA 91711
Phone: 909-398-0617 x70305

Fax: 909-398-0622

aoconnor@cusd.claremont.edu

The above contact is knowledgeable about the laws and programs that they are assigned to investigate in the Claremont Unified School District.

September 2023 REVISED

A Williams Complaint, another type of UCP complaint, regards instructional materials, emergency or urgent facilities conditions that threaten pupils' health and safety, and teacher vacancy or misassignment and may be filed anonymously. Williams Complaints are filed with the school's principal or designee where the complaint arises. Schools have complaint forms available for these types of complaints but will not reject a complaint if the form is not used as long as the complaint is submitted in writing.

If a Williams Complaint requirement is allegedly not being met, a Williams Complaint form may be obtained at a school or district office.

Textbooks and Instructional Material- There should be sufficient textbooks and instructional materials. That means each pupil, including English learners, must have a textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to take home.

Williams Complaint Violation:

• A pupil, including an English learner, does not have standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials, state-adopted or district-adopted textbooks, or other required instructional materials to use in class.

• A pupil does not have access to textbooks or instructional materials to use at home or after school. This does not require two sets of textbooks or instructional materials for each pupil.

• Textbooks or instructional materials are in poor or unusable condition, have missing pages, or are unreadable due to damage.

• A pupil was provided photocopied sheets from only a portion of a textbook or instructional materials to address a shortage of textbooks or instructional materials.

Facility Conditions- School facilities must be clean, safe, and maintained in good repair.

• A condition poses an urgent or emergency threat to the health or safety of students or staff, including gas leaks, nonfunctioning heating, ventilation, fire sprinklers or air-conditioning systems, electrical power failure, major sewer line stoppage, major pest or vermin infestation, broken windows or exterior doors or gates that will not lock and that pose a security risk, abatement of hazardous materials previously undiscovered that pose an immediate threat to pupils or staff, structural damage creating a hazardous or uninhabitable condition, and any other emergency conditions the school district determines appropriate.

• A school restroom has not been maintained or cleaned regularly, is not fully operational, and has not been stocked at all times with toilet paper, soap, paper towels, or functional hand dryers.

• The school has not kept all restrooms open during school hours when pupils are not in classes and has not kept a sufficient number of restrooms open during school hours when pupils are in classes.

Teacher Vacancy or Misassignment- There should be no teacher vacancies or misassignments. A teacher should be assigned to each class and not a series of substitutes or other temporary teachers. The teacher should have the proper credentials to teach the class, including the certification required to teach English learners if present.

Williams Complaint Violations:

• Teacher vacancy means a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of the year for an entire year or, if the position is for a one-semester course, a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of a semester for an entire semester.

• Misassignment means placing a certificated employee in a teaching or services position for which the employee does not hold a legally recognized certificate or credential or placing a certificated employee in a teaching or services position that the employee is not otherwise authorized by statute to hold. Teacher misassignment includes a teacher who lacks credentials or training to teach English learners and is assigned to teach a class with more than 20 percent of English learner pupils.

A complaint form may be obtained at the school or district office or downloaded from the school or district website. You may also download a copy of the Sample Williams Complaint Form in English and other languages from the California Department of Education Website. The complaint and response are public documents as provided by statute. Complaints may be filed anonymously, and a complainant need not use a Williams Complaint document to file a complaint. However, if you wish to receive a response, you must provide the following contact information.

1. Name

2. Mailing Address

3. Phone Number (optional)

 A Williams Complaint concerning deficiencies related to instructional materials, conditions of facilities that are not maintained in a clean or safe manner, good repair, or teacher vacancy or misassignment shall be filed with the principal (or designee) of the school where the Williams issue allegedly occurred. Should a complainant choose to directly file a Williams Complaint at a school where a Williams issue allegedly occurred, an LEA shall include all of the following language in its Williams Complaint document.

• Date of Problem

• Location of Problem

• School Name

• Address

• Room Number

• Course or Grade Level and Teacher Name

• Describe the complaint in detail. You may use as much text as necessary.

If Education Code Section 48985 is applicable and 15 percent or more of the pupils in grades K–12 enrolled in your LEA speak a language other than English, the Williams Complaint document shall be written in English and the primary language of the complainant. Translations for this sample are available free of charge on the webpage of the Categorical Programs Complaint Management (CPCM) office at the California Department of Education (CDE).