Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 90 - PROCEDURE FOR ADJUSTING GRIEVANCES › Part II - Grievance Procedure › Section 8VAC20-90-30 - Grievance procedure

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
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.