Education Lawyers | Leasor Crass, P.C.

Welcome to Leasor Crass, P.C. Leasor Crass, P.C. is a boutique law firm located in Mansfield, Texas, with a main focus on the representation of public schools. The firm is managed by Mike Leasor and Rhonda Crass, seasoned attorneys with …

  • Home
  • Firm Overview
  • Staff
  • Practice Areas
  • Blog
  • Superintendent Search
  • In The Community
  • Contact Us

October 1, 2018 By LeasorCrass

Delegation Evasion

Tommy FisherIn the recent consolidated cases of Kane v. United Indep. Sch. Dist. and Volpe v. United Indep. Sch. Dist., the Commissioner of Education ordered a school district to adopt a grievance policy requiring a school board to hold grievance hearings, without delegation to a committee.

Under the district’s local grievance policy at issue, the board president was authorized to decide whether the board conducted the hearing, or if the grievance would be heard by a committee of the board.  If the committee heard the grievance, the school board would make a final decision based on the committee’s recommendation.  However, the grievant would not receive a hearing before the entire board if the grievance was delegated to a committee.

The commissioner found that school boards are required to give a grievant a board hearing.  He stated that Texas Education Code §11.1511(b)(13) does not give a school board the option to grant a hearing or to substitute a board committee hearing for a board hearing, but rather requires the board to establish a process for hearings.  In addition, §11.1513(i) specifically requires that a district’s employment policy give the employee the right to present a grievance to the school board itself.  The commissioner also rejected the argument that the open comment portion of a school board meeting would give employees sufficient access to the board, because the open comment option was not mentioned in the policy nor did the open comment option provide due process.

What is the import of this decision?  Initially, if your district has a similar policy that delegates responsibility for hearing grievances to a board committee, that policy should be changed immediately.  If you have grievances in process that will ultimately be heard by a committee pursuant to a similar policy, it is recommended that the grievant involved be advised that the board will be the final decision maker for the grievance rather than a committee.

If you have any questions regarding this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Leasor Crass on this or any other school law issue.

Filed Under: Blog, Grievances

September 28, 2017 By LeasorCrass

The Truth About Grievances

Rhonda C. Crass

Texas law prohibits collective bargaining and strikes by public employees, but it preserves the right to redress of grievances. Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. §617.005 provides: “This chapter does not impair the right of public employees to present grievances concerning their wages, hours of employment, or conditions of work either individually or through a representative that does not claim the right to strike.” Further, Tex. Gov’t Code § 617.005 has been construed broadly to include evaluations, salary disputes, grading policies, sick leave, and “any other matter which is appropriate for communications from employees to employer concerning an aspect of their relationship.” A school district must provide parents, students, employees, and the general community the opportunity to have their complaints and concerns heard by those in positions of authority. Administrators and school boards are those “invested with the powers of government” in a school district, and they are the persons to whom citizens must present grievances.

School districts in Texas that use the TASB Policy service have grievance policies in accordance with state law under the legal policies and have adopted local guidelines for grievances in their local polices. The three types of grievances are employee grievances, student grievances and community grievances. Policy DGBA (Legal and Local) addresses employee grievances, while Policy FNG (Legal and Local) addresses student grievances. Community Grievances guidelines are found in Policy GF (Legal and Local). These local policies normally provide three levels at which the complaint should be heard. In large urban districts, some have four levels for grievances.

While the terms “complaint” and “grievance” are used interchangeably, basically, anything that has to do with the school district—from the reading materials in the library to the color of paint in the gym—may be the subject of a grievance. Grievances tend to be an inherently adversarial action because the grievant is challenging a decision made by an administrator, supervisor or your local school board. However, the importance of a grievance is that if a decision has been made that highlights an ineffective policy, bad local practice, or poor decision from a supervisor, the best practice is to revise the policy and not carve out exceptions to the rule.

Districts also hold a public forum at the beginning of each board meeting. Public forum is not the place for individuals to air grievances. Board policy states that the presiding officer or designee shall determine whether a person addressing the Board has attempted to solve a matter administratively through resolution channels established by policy. If not, the person shall be referred to the appropriate individual to seek resolution. Individuals should not be allowed to seek an audience with the Board in closed session unless the grievance policy is followed. Furthermore, levels I or II should not be waived to expedite a hearing before the board unless the board is the lowest level at which the requested relief may be granted. Because there are strict guidelines regarding the time frame for bringing grievances, individuals will often attempt to use the public forum avenue to bring their concerns to the board when the grievant has failed to meet the deadlines for bringing a grievance.

As a rule, board members do not necessarily enjoy hearing level III grievances as they are elected officials and generally do not like having to say no to constituents. Also, grievants are often their friends or neighbors which makes these decisions especially difficult. For that reason, the Board encourages students and parents to discuss their concerns and complaints through informal conferences with the appropriate teacher, principal, or other campus administrator. Even after initiating the formal complaint process, students and parents are encouraged to seek informal resolution of their concerns.

As a final reminder, it is important to check your local policy to ensure that the level I, II and III grievance forms are in your board policies DGBA, FNG and GF as an exhibit to the local policies. Many school district administrators have access to them, but it is important that the employees, students, parents, community members and key stakeholders have access as well. In reviewing your level I, II and III grievance policies, it is important to include a place on the form for not only the grievant’s physical address, but email and phone contact information as well.

For more information regarding grievances, please contact Leasor Crass. We also provide a training for administrators, supervisors and central office personnel on best practices for conducting grievance hearings.

Filed Under: Blog, Board Policy, Grievances, School Boards

  • STAFF:
  • Kim Mullins
  • Desiree Griffin
  • Tina Sweeden
  • Debbie Cano
https://www.facebook.com/LeasorCrass

LEASOR CRASS, P.C. Blog

Here at Leasor Crass, we are keeping a close eye on the bills being filed for the upcoming Texas legislative session which will either directly affect or have some impact on our clients. Filed on December 30, 2020, Senate Bill 272 really caught our attention. It requires a school district board … Read More

On October 20, 2020 Attorney General Ken Paxton opined on the ability of school districts to enter into long-term leases with private entities. More specifically, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney asked Attorney General Paxton whether an independent school district may enter into a … Read More

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Leasor Crass

LEASOR CRASS, P.C.

  • Home
  • Firm Overview
  • Staff
  • Practice Areas
  • Blog
  • Superintendent Search
  • In The Community
  • Contact Us

OFFICE LOCATION

302 W. Broad Street
Mansfield, Texas 76063
tel. 682.422.0009
fax. 682.422.0008

Copyright 2019 LEASOR CRASS, P.C. | All Rights Reserved
Website Design For Lawyers by: Law Firm Sites