{ "code": "GF", "title": "Public Complaints", "description": "Conroe ISD's Public Complaints policy establishes the process by which members of the public can formally raise concerns or disputes with the district. It outlines the procedures, timelines, and decision-making steps used at multiple levels of review to address those grievances. The policy also covers how records are kept, how appeals are handled, and how the process connects to external oversight.", "last_action_date": "2025-10-21", "last_action_result": "adopted", "timeline_local": [ { "date": "2025-10-21", "school_year": "2025-2026", "action": "adopted", "result": "adopted", "summary": "This update to Conroe ISD's GF (Local) Public Complaints policy systematically replaces the term \"complaint\" with \"grievance\" throughout, and introduces several substantive changes including new sections on Recusal, Grievance Record, Remand, Decisions Made on the Merits, Report to TEA, Availability of Policy, and Appeal to Commissioner, while also updating timelines, administrator designations, and decision-making procedures at all three levels.", "changes_added": [ "Grievance (replaces 'Complaint' as the operative term throughout the entire policy)", "and as stated in this policy (added to informal resolution deadline extension language)", "Recusal section: 'A District employee or Board member involved in reviewing a grievance must recuse himself or herself from the review process if that employee or Board member is the subject of the grievance. If a Board member files a grievance, he or she shall be prohibited from voting on matters related to that grievance. If the designated administrator at any level of the review process is required to recuse himself or herself, the grievance shall be subject to a higher level of review.'", "Grievance Record section: 'At each level of the grievance review process, a record shall be created and retained by the District. This record shall include: 1. Documents submitted by the person who filed the grievance or determined relevant by school district personnel; and 2. A written record of the decision, including an explanation of the basis for the decision and an indication of each document that supports the decision. The person who filed the grievance may supplement the record with additional documents or add additional claims.'", "Remand section: 'At any time, a grievance may be remanded to a lower level of review to develop a record, including when a grievance is pending before the Board of Trustees.'", "Decisions Made on the Merits section: 'At each level in the grievance review process, the District shall issue a decision on the merits of the concern raised in the grievance, notwithstanding procedural errors or the type of relief requested.'", "Level One filing deadline option a: '90 calendar days of the date the student or parent (or person standing in parental relation to a student) first knew or had reason to know of the facts giving rise to the grievance if the grievant engaged in informal attempts to resolve the grievance, or'", "Level One filing deadline option b: '30 calendar days from the date on which the District provided information to the grievant regarding how to file the grievance; and'", "Level One filing location item 2: 'With the principal's or principal's designee's office at the school campus at which the facts giving rise to the grievance occurred, or, for a grievance that arises from a subject matter unrelated to a campus, with an administrator at the District's central office.'", "'If the only administrator who has authority to remedy the alleged problem is the Superintendent or designee or the grievance arises from subject matter unrelated to a campus, the grievance may begin at Level Two following the procedure, including deadlines, for filing the grievance form at Level One.'", "'If the complaint grievance is not filed with the appropriate administrator as stated above, the receiving administrator must note the date and time the grievance form was received and immediately forward the grievance form to the appropriate administrator as stated above.'", "Level One response: 'The written response shall set forth the basis of the decision, any relief or redress to be provided and information regarding filing an appeal, including the timeline for filing such appeal under this policy and under Texas Education Code § 7.057, as applicable.'", "Level One response deadline changed to: '20 calendar days following the conference'", "Level Two: 'The designated Level Two administrator shall be the Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee at the District's central office.'", "Level Two appeal deadline changed to: '20 calendar days' (from ten)", "Level Two: 'After receiving notice of the appeal, the principal, designee, or other appropriate administrator who considered the grievance at Level One shall prepare and forward a record of the Level One grievance to the Level Two administrator.'", "Level Two response: 'The written response shall set forth the basis of the decision, any relief or redress to be provided and information regarding filing an appeal, including the timeline for filing such appeal under this policy and under Texas Education Code § 7.057, as applicable.'", "Level Three appeal deadline changed to: '20 calendar days' (from ten)", "Level Three: 'The Board may delegate the authority to hear and decide a grievance to a committee of at least three members composed only of members of the Board. For purposes of an appeal to the Commissioner of Education under Texas Education Code § 7.057, a decision by this committee constitutes a decision of the Board.'", "Level Three: 'The Board or its committee must hold a meeting to discuss the grievance not later than the 60th day after the date on which the previous decision on the grievance was made.'", "Level Two record item 4: 'A summary of all previous oral testimony.'", "Level Three: 'The grievant may request that the hearing or meeting at which the grievance will be discussed be open or closed, unless otherwise required by law. If the grievant does not make this request, tThe Board of Trustees shall determine whether the complaint grievance will be presented in open or closed meeting in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and other applicable law. [See BE]'", "Level Three Board decision: 'The Board shall make and give notice of its decision orally or in writing not later than the 30th day after the date on which the Board or its committee considers the grievance'", "Report to TEA section: 'The District shall annually submit to TEA a report on grievances filed in the District during the preceding year. For each grievance included on the report, the District shall include the resolution of the grievance and any corrective action taken.'", "Availability of Policy section: 'The following shall be made available in a prominent location on the District's website and included in the Student Handbook: This policy; The grievance and appeal forms referenced in this policy; The method by which a grievance may be filed electronically.'", "Appeal To Commissioner section: 'Except as may be provided to the contrary by state or federal law or other District policies, Level Three decisions by the Board may be appealed to the Commissioner of Education as outlined in Education Code 26A.'", "Level One filing deadline changed to: '60 calendar days' (from 45)", "starting at the level at which the grievance was dismissed (added to untimely filing appeal language)" ], "meeting_notes_url": "https://cisd-meetings.boardmonitor.app/meeting.html?id=2025-10-21_regular", "confidence": "medium", "source_redline": "GF_LOCAL.pdf" }, { "date": "2025-09-16", "school_year": "2025-2026", "action": "first_reading", "result": "first_reading", "summary": "This update to Conroe ISD's Board Policy GF (Local) – Public Complaints comprehensively replaces the term \"complaint\" with \"grievance\" throughout, restructures and expands procedural requirements at all three levels (including new timelines, recusal rules, grievance records, remand provisions, and a Report to TEA requirement), and adds new sections on Recusal, Grievance Record, Remand, Decisions Made on the Merits, Report to TEA, Availability of Policy, and Appeal to Commissioner.", "changes_added": [ "Grievances (replacing 'Complaints' in section heading 'Other Complaint Grievance Processes')", "grievance (replacing 'complaint' throughout the policy text)", "and as stated in this policy (added to informal resolution deadline exception)", "starting at the level at which the grievance was dismissed (added to untimely filing appeal language)", "Recusal [new section]: A District employee or Board member involved in reviewing a grievance must recuse himself or herself from the review process if that employee or Board member is the subject of the grievance. If a Board member files a grievance, he or she shall be prohibited from voting on matters related to that grievance. If the designated administrator at any level of the review process is required to recuse himself or herself, the grievance shall be subject to a higher level of review.", "Grievance Record [new section]: At each level of the grievance review process, a record shall be created and retained by the District. This record shall include: 1. Documents submitted by the person who filed the grievance or determined relevant by school district personnel; and 2. A written record of the decision, including an explanation of the basis for the decision and an indication of each document that supports the decision. The person who filed the grievance may supplement the record with additional documents or add additional claims.", "Remand [new section]: At any time, a grievance may be remanded to a lower level of review to develop a record, including when a grievance is pending before the Board of Trustees.", "Decisions Made on the Merits [new section]: At each level in the grievance review process, the District shall issue a decision on the merits of the concern raised in the grievance, notwithstanding procedural errors or the type of relief requested.", "Level One filing deadline changed from 15 to 60 calendar days", "or had reason to know of the facts giving rise to the grievance, or the later of: a. 90 calendar days of the date the student or parent (or person standing in parental relation to a student) first knew or had reason to know of the facts giving rise to the grievance if the grievant engaged in informal attempts to resolve the grievance, or b. 30 calendar days from the date on which the District provided information to the grievant regarding how to file the grievance; and", "With the principal's or principal's designee's office at the school campus at which the facts giving rise to the grievance occurred, or, for a grievance that arises from a subject matter unrelated to a campus, with an administrator at the District's central office. (replacing 'District's legal office')", "If the only administrator who has authority to remedy the alleged problem is the Superintendent or designee or the grievance arises from subject matter unrelated to a campus, the grievance may begin at Level Two following the procedure, including deadlines, for filing the grievance form at Level One.", "appropriate administrator as stated above (replacing 'District's legal office' in forwarding language)", "principal, designee, or other appropriate administrator (replacing 'Level One hearing officer' and 'hearing officer' throughout Level One)", "10 calendar days after the date the grievance was initially filed (replacing 'receipt of the written complaint')", "20 calendar days (replacing 'ten' days for Level One written response)", "The written response shall set forth the basis of the decision, any relief or redress to be provided and information regarding filing an appeal, including the timeline for filing such appeal under this policy and under Texas Education Code § 7.057, as applicable. (added to Level One response requirements)", "20 calendar days (replacing 'ten' days for Level Two appeal notice filing deadline)", "The designated Level Two administrator shall be the Superintendent or Superintendent's designee at the District's central office. (new language added at Level Two)", "20 calendar days (replacing 'ten' for Level Two appeal notice deadline)", "principal, designee, or other appropriate administrator who considered the grievance at Level One (replacing 'Level One' administrator in record forwarding)", "hearing officer and legal office (removed, replaced by 'administrator')", "The written response shall set forth the basis of the decision, any relief or redress to be provided and information regarding filing an appeal, including the timeline for filing such appeal under this policy and under Texas Education Code § 7.057, as applicable. (added to Level Two response requirements)", "Level Two administrator (replacing 'hearing officer' throughout Level Two)", "20 calendar days (replacing 'ten' for Level Three appeal notice deadline at both instances)", "Superintendent or designee (replacing 'legal office' in Level Three notification)", "The Board may delegate the authority to hear and decide a grievance to a committee of at least three members composed only of members of the Board. For purposes of an appeal to the Commissioner of Education under Texas Education Code § 7.057, a decision by this committee constitutes a decision of the Board. (new language added at Level Three)", "Superintendent or designee (replacing 'legal office' in providing Board the Level Two record)", "The Board or its committee must hold a meeting to discuss the grievance not later than the 60th day after the date on which the previous decision on the grievance was made. (new language at Level Three)", "Board of Trustees (replacing 'administration' in Level Three appeal evidence language)", "Superintendent or designee (replacing 'administration' in notice of new evidence)", "a description (replacing 'notice of the nature')", "or other information the Board intends to rely on (added to description of evidence notice)", "five (replacing 'three') days before the hearing", "The grievant may request that the hearing or meeting at which the grievance will be discussed by open or closed, unless otherwise required by law. If the grievant does not make this request, tThe District Board of Trustees shall determine whether the grievance will be presented in open or closed meeting in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and other applicable law. (restructured and expanded)", "not later than the 30th day after the date on which the Board or its committee considers the grievance (replacing 'at any time up to and including the next regularly scheduled Board meeting')", "4. A summary of all previous oral testimony. (new item added to Level Two record list)", "Report to TEA [new section]: The District shall annually submit to TEA a report on grievances filed in the District during the preceding year. For each grievance included on the report, the District shall include the resolution of the grievance and any corrective action taken.", "Availability of Policy [new section]: The following shall be made available in a prominent location on the District's website and included in the Student Handbook: This policy; The grievance and appeal forms referenced in this policy; The method by which a grievance may be filed electronically.", "Appeal To Commissioner [new section]: Except as may be provided to the contrary by state or federal law or other District policies, Level Three decisions by the Board may be appealed to the Commissioner of Education as outlined in Education Code 26A." ], "meeting_notes_url": "https://cisd-meetings.boardmonitor.app/meeting.html?id=2025-09-16_regular", "confidence": "medium", "source_redline": "GF_LOCAL.pdf" } ], "timeline_legal": [], "policy_connect_url": "https://policyconnect.org/policy/conroe-isd/GF" }