PROPOSED NEW Board Policy IKBB Divisive Concepts Complaint Resolution Process

PROPOSED NEW POLICY
                  Policy IKBB: Divisive Concepts Complaint Resolution Process

The DeKalb County Board of Education, in compliance with Georgia’s “Protect Students First
Act,” O.C.G.A. §20-1-11, adopts the following complaint resolution policy.

A. Definitions:

     1. “Divisive Concepts” means any of the following concepts, including views
         espousing such concepts:
         a. One race is superior to another race;
         b. The United States of America is fundamentally racist;
         c. An individual, by virtue of his or her race, is inherently or consciously racist or
              oppressive toward individuals of other races;
         d. An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or
              partly because of his or her race;
         e. An individual’s moral character is inherently determined by his or her race;
         f. An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, bears individual responsibility for
              actions committed in the past by other individuals of the same race;
         g. An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, should feel anguish, guilt or any
              other form of psychological distress;
         h. Performance-based advancement or the recognition and appreciation of character
              traits such as hard work ethic are racist or have been advocated for by individuals of a
              particular race to oppress individuals of another race; or
         i. Any other form of race scapegoating or race stereotyping.
     2. “Espousing personal political beliefs” means an individual, while performing official
         duties as part of his or her employment or engagement with a school or local school
         system, intentionally encouraging or attempting to persuade or indoctrinate a student,
         school community member, or other school personnel to agree with or advocate for
         such individual’s personal beliefs concerning divisive concepts.
     3. “Race scapegoating” means assigning fault or blame to a race, or to an individual of a
         particular race because of his or her race. Such term includes, but is not limited to, any
         claim that an individual of a particular race, consciously and by virtue of his or her race,
         is inherently racist or is inherently inclined to oppress individuals of other races.
     4. “Race stereotyping” means ascribing character traits, values, moral or ethical codes,
         status, or beliefs to an individual because of his or her race.

B.      Requirements:

     1. The DeKalb County Board of Education, its Superintendent, and each school shall
        prohibit an employee from discriminating against students and other employees based
        on race.
     2. The DeKalb County Board of Education, its Superintendent, and each school shall
        ensure that curricula and training programs encourage employees and students to
        practice tolerance and mutual respect and to refrain from judging others based on
        race.
     3. The DeKalb County Board of Education and each local school may provide curricula
        or training programs that foster learning and workplace environments where all
        students, employees, and school community members are respected; provided,
        however, that any curriculum, classroom instruction, or mandatory training program,
      whether delivered or facilitated by school personnel or a third party engaged by a
      school or local school system, shall not advocate for divisive concepts.
   4. Nothing in this policy shall be construed or applied to:
         a. Inhibit or violate the rights protected by the Constitutions of Georgia and the
             United States of America or undermine intellectual freedom and free expression;
         b. Infringe upon the intellectual vitality of students and employees of local boards of
             education, local school systems or other schools;
         c. Prohibit a local board of education, local school system, or other school from
             promoting concepts such as tolerance, mutual respect, cultural sensitivity, or
             cultural competency; provided, however, that such efforts do not conflict with the
             requirements of this policy, O.C.G.A. §20-1-11 and other applicable laws;
         d. Prohibit a school administrator, teacher or other school personnel, or an individual
             facilitating a training program from responding in a professionally and
             academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs
             to questions regarding specific divisive concepts raised by students, school
             community members or participants in a training program;
         e. Prohibit the discussion of divisive concepts, as part of a larger course of
             instruction, in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and
             without espousing personal political beliefs;
         f. Prohibit the full and rigorous implementation of locally approved curriculum
             linked to Georgia Standards of Excellence, Advanced Placement, International
             Baccalaureate Diploma Program, dual enrollment coursework, or elements of
             such curricula; provided, however, that such implementation is done in a
             professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing
             personal political beliefs;
         g. Prohibit the use of curricula that addresses the topics of slavery, racial oppression,
             racial segregation, or racial discrimination, including topics relating to the
             enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression, segregation,
             and discrimination in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and
             without espousing personal political beliefs;
         h. Create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
             equity, by any party against a local board of education, local school system, or
             other school, or the departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees, agents, or
             any other personnel affiliated with such local board of education, local school
             system, or other school; or
         i. Prohibit a state or federal court or agency of competent jurisdiction from ordering
             training or other remedial action that discusses divisive concepts due to a finding
             of discrimination, including discrimination based on race.

C. Complaint Resolution:

The DeKalb County Board of Education adopts the following complaint resolution process to
address complaints alleging violations of any provision of the subsections listed earlier in this
policy. The complaint resolution process shall provide that:
    1. A complaint made pursuant to this policy may only be brought by one of the
        following categories of individuals, subsequently referenced in this policy as the
        “complainant”:
            a. A parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled at the school where the alleged
               violation occurred;
            b. A student who has reached the age of majority or is a lawfully emancipated minor
               who is enrolled at the school where the alleged violation occurred; or
        c. An individual employed as a school administrator, teacher, or other personnel at
              the school where the alleged violation occurred;
2. The complaint shall first be submitted to the principal of the school where the alleged
    violation occurred. The complaint shall:
              a. Be in writing; and
              b. Provide a reasonably detailed description of the alleged violation.
3. School level review:
    a. Within five (5) school days of receiving the complaint; the school principal or
        designee shall review the complaint and take reasonable steps to investigate the
        allegations contained in the complaint;
    b. Within ten (10) school days of receiving the complaint, the school principal or
        designee shall confer with the complainant:
           i. The school principal or designee shall inform the complainant whether a
                  violation occurred, in whole or in part; and
          ii. If a violation occurred, in whole or in part, the school principal or designee
                  shall inform the complainant of what remedial steps have been taken or will
                  be taken; provided that the confidentiality of student or personnel information
                  shall not be violated.
         iii. Another schedule may be mutually agreed upon by the complainant and the
                  school principal or designee regarding this ten (10) day response limit.
    c. Following such conference, within three (3) school days of a request by the
        complainant, the school principal or designee shall provide to the complainant:
           i.     A written summary of the findings of the investigation; and
          ii.     A statement of remedial measures, if any, provided, however, that such
                  written response shall not disclose any confidential student or personnel
                  information.
4. Superintendent review:
    a. Complainant may submit a written request for review of the school level findings to
        the Superintendent. The school level findings shall be reviewed by the Superintendent
        or designee within ten (10) school days of receiving a written request for such review
        by the complainant addressed to the Superintendent or designee; provided, however,
        that confidential student or personnel information shall not be subject to review;
    b. The Superintendent or designee shall review the original complaint filed by
        complainant, any school level summary of findings, and any statement in writing
        submitted to the Superintendent in connect with the review by either the complainant
        or principal or designee. Submission of written statements is optional, and must be
        submitted within a time frame designated by the Superintendent.
    c. The Superintendent or designee will provide a decision; provided that the
        confidentiality of student or personnel information shall not be violated.
5. Local Board of Education review:
    a. The decision of the Superintendent or designee following the review provided for in
        Section C(4) above shall be subject, within a reasonable length of time, to review by
        the DeKalb County Board of Education as provided for in O.C.G.A. §20-2-1160;
        provided, however, that confidential student or personnel information shall not be
        subject to review pursuant to this paragraph.
    b. When the DeKalb County Board of Education has made a decision, it shall be binding
        on the parties; provided however that the parties shall be notified in writing of the
        decision and of the right of any party listed in the original complaint (complainant or
        employee who allegedly committed the violation) who is aggrieved by the decision of
        the local board of education to appeal such decision to the Georgia State Board of
        Education for a hearing as provided in O.C.G.A. §20-2-1160.
6. State Board of Education review:
          a. The Georgia State Board of Education shall, after hearing such appeal, make
              written findings regarding whether any violations, in whole or in part, of the
              provisions of this policy occurred at a school in such school system.
          b. If the State Board of Education finds that one or more of such violations
              occurred, it shall direct the Georgia Department of Education to develop a
              corrective action plan to be provided to the local school system within ten (10)
              calendar days of such finding. The local school system shall have thirty (30)
              calendar days to implement the corrective action plan.
          c. If the Georgia State Board of Education finds that such local school system has
              not implemented the corrective action plan; in cases where the local school
              system at issue has been granted one or more waivers as provided in Article 4 of
              Chapter 2 of Title 20, O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-244 or 20-2-2065, the State Board of
              Education shall order the immediate suspension of one or more waivers included
              in the local school system’s contract with the State Board of Education for such
              waivers:
                  i. The State Board of Education shall exercise discretion in determining
                      which waivers shall be subject to such order of suspension and shall, as
                      may be reasonable and practicable, narrowly tailor such order to address
                      specific violations of provisions contained in this policy; and
                  ii. An order suspending a local school system’s waivers shall be in effect no
                      less than twelve (12) months from the date of such order. If a local school
                      system’s contract with the State Board of Education providing for such
                      waivers is greater than twelve (12) months, then no longer than such
                      remainder;
          d. If the Georgia State Board of Education finds that such local school system has
              not implemented the corrective action plan; in cases where the local school
              system has not been granted a waiver, the State Board of Education shall refer the
              matter to the State School Superintendent to determine whether to exercise his or
              her suspension authority as provided in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-4.
   7. Nothing in this policy shall be construed to prohibit any cause of action available at law
      or in equity to a complainant who is aggrieved by a decision of a local board of
      education, the governing body of a charter school, or the State Charter Schools
      Commission.

D. Records Request

   1. Any individual described in this policy, Section C(1), shall have the right at any time,
      including prior to filing a complaint, to request, in writing, from the Superintendent or
      school principal nonconfidential records which he or she reasonably believes may
      substantiate a complaint under this policy. The Superintendent or school principal shall
      produce such records for inspection within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed
      three (3) business days of receipt of a request.
   2. In those instances where some, but not all, of the records requested are available for
      inspection within three (3) business days, the Superintendent or school principal shall
      make available within that period such records that are available for inspection.
   3. In any instance where some or all of such records are unavailable within three (3)
      business days of receipt of the request, and such information exists, the Superintendent
      or school principal shall, within such time period, provide the requester with a
      description of such records and a timeline for when the records will be available for
      inspection and shall provide the records or access thereto as soon as practicable but in no
      case later than thirty (30) days after receipt of the request.
4. If the Superintendent or school principal denies a parent's request for records or does not
   provide existing responsive records within thirty (30) days, the parent may appeal such
   denial or failure to respond to the DeKalb County Board of Education, which must place
   such appeal on the agenda for its next public meeting. If it is too late for such appeal to
   appear on the next meeting's agenda, the appeal must be included on the agenda for the
   subsequent meeting.
5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any cause of action available at
   law or in equity to a parent who is aggrieved by a decision of a local board of education
   or the governing body of a charter school made pursuant to this policy.