Report 2012-108 Recommendation 7 Responses

Report 2012-108: School Safety and Nondiscrimination Laws: Most Local Educational Agencies Do Not Evaluate the Effectiveness of Their Programs, and the State Should Exercise Stronger Leadership (Release Date: August 2013)

Recommendation #7 To: Los Angeles Unified School District

To ensure that it is effectively preventing and addressing incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Los Angeles Unified should ensure that school sites follow the complaint procedures established in its policies.

1-Year Agency Response

- Has drafted a revision of the Bullying and Hazing Policy to require that there be at least one update within 30 school-days after an initial filing to document status of investigation, actions taken, and need for ongoing monitoring. The revised Policy includes sample communication to complainants (Exhibit 2Jr).

- Will generate monthly iSTAR reports of bullying incidents identifying the status of the incident, and the number of actions and updates since the initial filing beginning 2014/15 (Exhibit 1B).

- Is continuing to use the 25-day notification of iSTAR incidents to alert administrators to document the status of investigations, actions taken, and need for ongoing monitoring of bullying incidents (evidence provided at 6-month submission).

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

Los Angeles Unified has created tools to monitor school sites to help ensure they are following complaint procedures in place per policy. Specifically, it provided support of the 25-day notification of iSTAR incidents to alert administrators of status of investigations, actions taken, and need for ongoing monitoring of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying incidents.

6-Month Agency Response

Incidents of bullying that culminate in suspension are reviewed monthly to determine whether additional supports are recommended (Exhibit 2I).

The ESC is charged with assisting schools with resolving complaints from all stakeholders regarding the implementation of School Wide Positive Behavior Support and Intervention (Exhibit 2I Discipline Foundation Policy). As such, the ESC closely monitors the schools responses to bullying.

The Title IX Bullying Complaint Log maintains critical information (dates of report, closure, monitoring, notification to complainant) that can indicate the schools response time to incidents (Exhibit 5A, Bullying Complaint Log). The revised Bullying Complaint Form allows cross-referencing of incidents that are also notated in iSTAR or LAUSDMAX (Exhibit 5B).

The iSTAR system generates an alert after 25 days of inactivity on an open incident to remind administrators to document the status of investigation, actions taken, and need for ongoing monitoring of bullying incidents (Exhibit 4A). School Operation administrators at the ESC and Central Office receive bi-weekly notifications of dormant incidents as a means of monitoring responsiveness.

To comply with the California State Auditors Recommendation 5, the District:

Is requiring that Operations Coordinators review the Bullying Complaint Log during their school site visits with the administrative team (Exhibit 5A, sample Bullying Complaint Log, Attachment to Revised Bullying and Hazing Bulletin), effective July 1, 2014.

Is revising the Bullying Policy to require that there be at least one update within 30 school-days to document status of investigation, actions taken, and need for ongoing monitoring (Exhibit 2J).

Has automated the iSTAR database systems to generate notifications to update the status of open cases of bullying that have been inactive for 25 days (Exhibit 4A).

Will generate and review quarterly iSTAR reports specific to bullying

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

-Thoroughly review the bullying complaint policy and protocol to add time guidelines for responding to and monitoring allegations of bullying and develop communiques to parents

-Automate the data base systems to generate notifications to update the status of open cases of bullying that have been inactive.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2012-108

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.