5.1.1 Appeals and Fairness Policy

POLICY TYPE: 5.0 Educational Program Policies \ 5.1 Challenge and Appeal
EFFECTIVE DATE: 2018-10-24	LAST REVISED: 2024-11-25
THIS POLICY APPLIES TO: Contractors – Individuals engaged to provide services under a contract with SelfDesign Learning Foundation Support Providers – Individuals engaged under a contract or agreement with SelfDesign Learning Foundation to provide services for a specific learner Families – Learners and parents(s)/guardian(s) of learners participating in SelfDesign Learning Foundation’s programs Volunteers – Individuals providing goods/services under the terms of an agreement with SelfDesign Learning Foundation Board Members – Members of the Board of Directors for SelfDesign Learning Foundation and the Foundation for SelfDesign (FSD)

Policy Statement

SelfDesign Learning Foundation (SDLF) is committed to supporting procedural fairness and the respectful treatment of all persons involved in a situation involving learner disputes.

Definitions

Dispute – a disagreement, argument, or debate

Policy

SelfDesign Learning Community will provide all learners with:

Clear expectations for participation at SelfDesign Learning Community.

Respect and dignity.

Essential facts of an allegation provided when notified of an accusation of transgression of an agreement.

Opportunity to be heard/give their perspective.

Appeal process.

No retribution for making an appeal.

In the case of a serious dispute, the learner(s) parent(s)/guardian(s) will be notified, and the SelfDesign Learning Community will be diligent to gather all the facts and provide all parties a chance to share their perspective. All findings and hearings will be recorded, documented, and filed.

Protocol

Clear Expectations

Upon completion of the enrolment agreement, learners will know what is expected of them regarding their participation at SelfDesign Learning Community in both the program agreements and SelfDesign policies.

Respect and Dignity

SelfDesign Learning Community acknowledges that all learners have the right to be treated with respect and dignity and will treat all learners with respect and dignity.

Facts of the Allegation in a Timely Manner

When a learner is accused of a transgression of an agreement, they will be notified in a timely manner of what they are accused of and provided with the essential facts of what they allegedly have done.

Opportunity to be Heard

When a dispute arises concerning the transgression of an agreement, the learner(s) concerned will be given the opportunity to tell their perspective of the event(s).

Serious Disputes

In the case of a serious dispute, the parent(s)/guardian(s) will be notified, and SelfDesign Learning Community will:

Through talking with the persons involved and/or reading any documentation, a concerted effort will be made by a team appointed by the school principal to glean the basic facts of the situation without interpretation or evaluation.

Be diligent to gather all the facts:
- Information considered by the team will be shared with all involved.
- The team will conduct a meeting, as appropriate, with the persons involved in the dispute to review the situation, with the mandate to decide how best to resolve it.
- If for any reason it is decided by the school principal that it is inappropriate for the team to mediate this meeting, a mediator from outside the SelfDesign Learning Community may be contracted.
- At the meeting, it will be required that the team or mediator will consider and implement guidelines for those involved to protect the complainant from retaliation.

Report, document, and file all findings.
- All findings concerning the dispute(s) and complaint(s) that proceed a meeting will be recorded and kept in the appropriate individual’s file.
- Meeting minutes will also be recorded and kept in the appropriate individual’s file.

Appeal Process

Appealing a Decision

In the event that a learner or parent(s)/guardian(s) would like to dispute a decision made, the learner or parent(s)/guardian(s) can make an appeal in writing to the school principal and/or the President and CEO of SDLF.

To ensure unbiased treatment:

No one involved in the initial team can play a role in an appeal process.

A review of the procedures followed by the original decision-maker will be done to ensure fairness and correctness.

Appealing an Appeal to the AMS Ombudsperson

After an appeal to the school principal and/or President and CEO has been reviewed and a decision made, any learner or parent/guardian of a learner affected by the decision, recommendation, act, or omission of an independent school or school authority may ask the Associate Member Society (AMS) Ombudsperson to investigate the complaint.

A complaint must be made in writing, setting out the basis for the complaint in reasonable detail. The complaint must set out the disputed decisions, procedures, and actions of the school based on one or more of the following:

The complainant was treated in a manner contrary to the principles of natural justice, or related to the application of arbitrary, unreasonable or unfair procedure.

The school applied a policy incorrectly or inconsistently.

The decision, procedure, or action was contrary to the philosophy and mission of the school.

The school acted for an improper purpose.

The school failed to give adequate and appropriate reason in relation to the nature of the matter.

The school was negligent or acted improperly.

There was unreasonable delay in dealing with the subject matter of the investigation.

The complainant must agree at the time of making the complaint to accept the ombudsperson as an unbiased party in the complaint and not to compel the ombudsperson to give evidence in a court or in other proceedings of a judicial nature in respect of anything coming to the ombudsperson’s attention in the course of investigating of the complaint. If the complainant does not accept the ombudsperson as an unbiased person in the matter in dispute, the complainant may ask the AMS to designate another ombudsperson for that matter.

No Retribution for Appeal

SDLF will protect the complainant from retaliation.