Virginia Code 22.1-308: Grievance procedure.
A. The Board of Education shall prescribe a grievance procedure which shall include the following:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 22.1-308
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Grievance: means a complaint or dispute by a teacher relating to his employment, including (i) disciplinary action including dismissal; (ii) the application or interpretation of (a) personnel policies, (b) procedures, (c) rules and regulations, (d) ordinances, and (e) statutes; (iii) acts of reprisal against a teacher for filing or processing a grievance, participating as a witness in any step, meeting, or hearing relating to a grievance, or serving as a member of a fact-finding panel; and (iv) complaints of discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, political affiliation, disability, age, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or military status. See Virginia Code 22.1-306
- in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- School board: means the school board that governs a school division. See Virginia Code 22.1-1
1. Except in the case of dismissal or placing on probation, a first step which shall provide for an informal, initial processing of a grievance by the most immediate appropriate supervisor through a discussion;
2. A requirement that all stages of the grievance beyond the first step be in writing on forms prescribed by the Board of Education and supplied by the school board;
3. A requirement that in reducing the grievance to writing, the teacher shall specify the specific relief sought through the use of the procedure;
4. The right of the grievant and the respondent to present appropriate witnesses and be represented by legal counsel and another representative;
5. Reasonable time limitations, prescribed by the Board, for the grievant to submit an initial complaint and to appeal each decision through the steps of the grievance procedure which shall correspond generally or be equivalent to the time prescribed for response at each step;
6. Termination of the right of the grievant to further appeal upon failure of the grievant to comply with all substantial procedural requirements of the grievance procedure without just cause;
7. The right of the grievant, at his option, upon failure of the respondent to comply with all substantial procedural requirements without just cause, to advancement to the next step or, in the final step, to a decision in his favor;
8. A final step which shall provide for a final decision on the grievance by the school board;
9. The provisions of §§ 22.1-309 through 22.1-313.
B. Representatives referred to in subsection A 4 of this section may examine, cross-examine, question and present evidence on behalf of a grievant or respondent in the grievance procedure without being in violation of the provisions of § 54.1-3904.
C. Nothing in the procedure shall be construed to restrict any teacher’s right to seek or a school division administration’s right to provide customary review of complaints that are not included within the definition of a grievance.
Code 1950, § 22-217.5:2; 1979, c. 298; 1980, c. 559; 1992, c. 679.