Grievance Policy

Miles Ahead Charter School will make every effort possible to resolve any concerns from scholars, families, and teachers at the management level through collaborative meetings to review data, consider scholar, family, and educator perspectives, and to make the best decision for our scholars.

In any case, where families remain unsatisfied, they can engage in our grievance policy.

Scope of Complaint Procedure

Any grievance MACS will fall into one of three primary categories:

1. Complaints about a scholar, the classroom experience, or a teacher;
2. Complaints or concerns about school-wide practices such as communication, facility, policy, or administration; or
3. Complaints or concerns about a parent/guardian or community member involved at MACS.

The procedure for filing a complaint requires that the complaint should be in writing, and every attempt should have been made to settle the issue with individual conversations before bringing a formal grievance. Please note that the grievance procedure is separate from the right to file an OCR complaint and the right to an impartial Section 504 due process hearing.

Family Grievance Procedure

Step One: Informal Discussion

A family having a grievance hereunder shall make a good-faith effort to resolve the matter through informal discussions with the individual(s) involved in the matter and/or with the employee’s direct supervisor, within five (5) working days of the occurrence or cause of such matter.

Step Two: Administrative Review

1. If the matter cannot be resolved through informal discussion, the aggrieved family may submit their complaint, in writing, to a member of the leadership team within ten (10) working days after the most recent event upon which the complaint is based.
2. The written complaint should include identification of the problem, a description of the efforts undertaken to informally resolve the dispute, and a proposed resolution.
3. The Executive Director will respond to the complainant with confirmation of receipt and explanation of grievance process and timeline (which will include notifying families of their rights to engage in due process or file a complaint with the MACS Board of Directors when appropriate).
4. The Executive Director will investigate the concern and respond with his/her findings in writing five (5) working days of receipt, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable.
5. The Executive Director will make every reasonable effort to schedule a meeting to occur within five (5) working days of receipt (or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable) of the complaint with the Executive Director and any other person(s) whose actions or decisions give rise to the matter. At such a meeting, each party will have the opportunity to be heard and to request relief.
6. Within three (3) working days or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable, the Executive Director will issue a written recommendation as to how the matter should be resolved. All parties present at the meeting shall receive copies of the written recommendation.

Step Three: Review by Ethics Committee

If the aggrieved family remains dissatisfied after administrative review, the family may, within ten (10) working days of receipt of the Executive Director’s written recommendation, submit the complaint to the Ethics Committee of the Board of Directors. Upon review of the complaint, the Ethics Committee shall schedule a phone, virtual, or in-person meeting with the family. The Ethics Committee will meet with the family to go over the complaint and discuss the matter with all parties involved. This meeting shall take place within ten (10) working days of the committee’s receipt of the complaint, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable given the circumstances. The committee shall make every reasonable effort to prepare a written decision within five (5) working days of the meeting with the family. All parties present at the meeting shall receive copies of the written decision. For Category 1 grievances, the Ethics Committee shall make the final determination, and any further appeal by the family should be in accordance with Step Five below.

Step Four: Review by the Board or a Committee Thereof

If the aggrieved family remains dissatisfied after review by the Ethics Committee of a Category 2 or 3 complaint, the family may appeal to the Board of Directors for a full review decision by filing within ten (10) working days of the decision, with the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, the original complaint, and a written explanation of why he or she disagrees with the decision of the Ethics Committee. A written decision will be issued by the Board or his/her designee as soon as is reasonably practicable, but no later than five (5) working days after the next meeting of the Board. Board members who are interested parties shall excuse themselves from the hearing if such members have a conflict of interest in the subject of the appeal.

Step Five: Appeal to the State Board of Education

If the aggrieved family remains dissatisfied after review by the Governing Board, he/she may appeal to the State Board of Education in accordance with O.C.G.A § 20-2-1160. Generally, the Board will not address a grievance where resolution has not been exhausted through the appropriate steps above. Further, the Board generally will not address a grievance that is made anonymously, based on hearsay, or made on behalf of another family. For any grievance presented to the Board, the Board may delegate review of the grievance to a member or members of the Board, legal counsel, or another designee at its discretion. MACS may, at its discretion, notify individual school employees about grievances brought against them. Parents/guardians may, however, request that they not be personally identified as the party bringing the grievance.

The availability and use of this grievance procedure does not prevent a person from filing a complaint of discrimination on the basis of disability with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.

Ethics Committee Lead

Angel Turner
4665 Macland Road Building 300
Powder Springs, GA 30127
Angel.Turner@milesaheadcharter.org

O.C.G.A. § 20-2-751.7(a) – The Professional Standards Commission shall establish a state mandated process for students to follow in reporting instances of alleged inappropriate behavior by a teacher, administrator, or other school employee toward a student which shall not prohibit the ability of a student to report the incident to law enforcement authorities. Each local school system shall be required to implement and follow such state mandated process and shall include the mandated process in student handbooks and in employee handbooks or policies.