Uniform Complaint Procedures

San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) has the primary responsibility to insure compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations and has established procedures to address allegations of unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying and complaints alleging violation of state or federal laws governing educational programs. SJCOE shall investigate and seek to resolve complaints using policies and procedures known as the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) adopted by the San Joaquin County Board of Education.

Complaints must be filed in writing with the following compliance officer:

Director of Human Resources
2922 Transworld Drive, Stockton, CA 95206 (physical)
P.O. Box 213030, Stockton, CA 95213-9030 (mailing)
FAX: (209) 468-9226

The SJCOE ensures that the Director of Human Resources responsible for compliance and/or investigations is knowledgeable about the laws/programs that he/she is assigned to investigate.

Complaints alleging unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or related retaliation must be filed within six months from the date the alleged discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or retaliation occurred or the date the complainant first obtained knowledge of the facts of the alleged discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or retaliation.

Complaints will be investigated and a written decision or report will be sent to the complainant within 60 days from the receipt of the complaint. This 60 day time period may be extended by written agreement of the complainant. The Director of Human Resources shall conduct and complete the investigation in accordance with 5 CCR §§ 4680-4687 and in accordance with local procedures adopted under 5 CCR § 4621.

Any complainant who is dissatisfied with the final written decision has a right to appeal the decision made by SJCOE to the California Department of Education (CDE) by filing a written appeal within 15 days of receiving the decision. The complainant must specify the reason(s) for appealing the decision and whether the facts are incorrect and/or the law has been misapplied. The appeal must include a copy of the locally filed complaint and the decision.

For complaints alleging unlawful discrimination based on state law (such as discriminatory harassment, intimidation, and bullying), the complainant may:

1. Pursue available civil law remedies outside of the SJCOE complaint procedures, including seeking assistance from mediation centers or public/private interest attorneys, 60 calendar days after the filing of an appeal with the CDE. (Ed. Code, § 262.3)
2. The 60 days moratorium does not apply to complaints seeking injunctive relief in state courts or to discrimination complaints based on federal law. (Ed. on Code, § 262.3)
3. Complaints alleging discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, gender, disability, or age may also be filed with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights at www.ed.gov/ocr within 180 days of the alleged discrimination.

Additional information from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, including its Electronic Complaint Form. The Office for Civil rights can be contacted at 1-800-421-3481 or ocr@ed.gov.