Recursos
Family Complaints & Concerns
KIPP Public Schools Northern California (“KIPP NorCal”) takes family concerns seriously. We want families and members of the public to feel heard, supported, and confident about how to raise a concern and what process KIPP NorCal must follow to resolve concerns and complaints.
As an independent Charter School Management Organization with its own Board of Directors, KIPP NorCal is responsible for addressing all complaints related to its operations. To ensure a prompt response to your concern, please follow the process outlined below.
Overview of the Process
Most concerns can be resolved through direct communication with the people closest to the situation. When a concern cannot be resolved informally, KIPP has a formal written complaint process to help ensure that concerns are reviewed fairly and promptly.
How to Raise a Family Concern
1. Connect with the school directly
Schedule a conversation with the teacher, School Leader, or administrator who is directly involved in the concern. In many cases, talking directly with the person closest to the issue is the fastest way to reach a resolution. Contact information for School Leaders can be found on individual School Pages.
2. If the concern is not resolved through direct communication, submit a formal complaint
Submit a written General Complaint Form to the School Leader either in person or via email. The complaint should describe:
- the concern or issue;
- the steps already taken to resolve it; and
- the resolution you are seeking.
If a family needs help putting a complaint in writing, including because of a disability, literacy needs, or language access needs, please reach out to your school’s Main Office and KIPP NorCal staff will assist with filing the complaint. Contact information for your school’s Main Office can be found on individual School Pages.
3. School reviews and responds
The school will review your form, and no later than 10 business days of receiving the complaint form, the School Leader will reach out to arrange a conference.
4. If the issue remains unresolved
Further details on how to escalate to Regional Management, Chief Schools Officer/CEO, and the Board Complaint Committee can be found in our Regional Policies under “Board Policy: General Complaints”. This involves continuing to submit the General Complaint Form through different channels. The School Leader can support you in filing additional complaints if unresolved.
If your concern is not addressed through the General Complaint Form, please review the additional complaint processes below and select the one that best matches your concern.
Types of Additional Complaints
For complaints related to Harassment, Intimidation, Discrimination, and Bullying against any protected group on the basis of actual or perceived characteristics, please refer to the Title IX, Harassment, Intimidation, Discrimination, and Bullying Policy and submit a Uniform Complaint Procedures (“UCP”) complaint form.
For complaints related to sexual harassment or discrimination based on gender, please refer to the Title IX Harassment, Intimidation, Discrimination and Bullying Policy, which can be found on our Title IX Page, and complete the Title IX, Harassment, Intimidation, Discrimination, and Bullying form.
If your concern involves discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying based on a protected characteristic, including sex, gender, or another protected class, a different complaint procedure may apply.
For complaints related to the violation of a state or federal law or regulation governing any of the following programs:
- Accommodations for pregnant, parenting, or lactating students;
- Adult education programs;
- Career technical and technical education and training programs;
- Child care and development programs;
- Consolidated categorical aid programs;
- The education or graduation of students in foster care, students experiencing homelessness, former juvenile court school students now enrolled in a public school, migratory children, and children of military families;
- The Every Student Succeeds Act;
- Migrant child education programs;
- Unlawful pupil fees;
- Regional occupational centers and programs;
- State preschool programs; and
- LCFF or LCAP noncompliance.
Please refer to the Uniform Complaint Procedures policy in our Regional Handbook and file a Uniform Complaint Procedures (“UCP”) complaint form.
Special Education and Section 504 Plan complaints can be resolved by contacting the school’s School Leader. A complaint can also be submitted using the General Complaint Form or the Uniform Complaint Procedures (“UCP”) complaint form if the complaint is directly related to the student’s disability.
Please see the Educational Records and Student Information Policy for the process related to complaints involving student records, located in our Regional Handbook.
KIPP makes every effort to resolve family complaints through the General Complaint process outlined above. Please contact the School Leader at the school if your complaint relates to enrollment or disenrollment. If your issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may file a California Department of Education complaint form with the School’s authorizer. Please see the CDE Complaint Notice Forms for the process and for each school’s authorizer contact information.
KIPP makes every effort to resolve family complaints through the processes outlined above. If your concern cannot be resolved through KIPP’s General Complaint process, which includes escalating to Regional Management, Chief Schools Officer/CEO, and the Board Complaint Committee, you may have additional rights or options depending on the nature of your complaint, as outlined above.
Uniform Complaint Procedure (UCP)
Some complaints involving discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying tied to a protected class, as well as unlawful pupil fees and other violations of state or federal education law, are handled through KIPP’s Uniform Complaint Procedure rather than the General Complaint process.
Learn more about KIPP’s Uniform Complaint Procedure in our Regional Policies under “Board Policy: Uniform Complaint Policy & Procedure”.