(a) (1) A local educational agency exempt from licensing pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 1596.792 of the Health and Safety Code shall use the uniform complaint process it has adopted as required by Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 4600) of Division 1 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, with modifications, as necessary, to resolve any deficiencies related to preschool health and safety issues for a California state preschool program pursuant to Section 1596.7925 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) A complaint may be filed anonymously. A complainant who identifies himself or herself is entitled to a response if he or she indicates that a response is requested. A complaint form shall include a space to mark to indicate whether a response is requested. If Section 48985 is otherwise applicable, the response, if requested, and report shall be written in English and the primary language in which the complaint was filed. All complaints and responses are public records.
(3) The complaint form shall specify the location for filing a complaint. A complainant may add as much text to explain the complaint as he or she wishes.
(4) A complaint shall be filed with the preschool program administrator or his or her designee. A complaint about problems beyond the authority of the preschool program administrator shall be forwarded in a timely manner, but not to exceed 10 working days to the appropriate local educational agency official for resolution.
(b) The preschool program administrator or the designee of the district superintendent, as applicable, shall make all reasonable efforts to investigate any problem within his or her authority. Investigations shall begin within 10 days of the receipt of the complaint. The preschool program administrator or designee of the district superintendent shall remedy a valid complaint within a reasonable time period, but not to exceed 30 working days from the date the complaint was received. The preschool program administrator or designee of the district superintendent shall report to the complainant the resolution of the complaint within 45 working days of the initial filing. If the preschool program administrator makes this report, the preschool program administrator shall also report the same information in the same timeframe to the designee of the district superintendent.
(c) A complainant not satisfied with the resolution of the preschool program administrator or the designee of the district superintendent has the right to describe the complaint to the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency at a regularly scheduled hearing of the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency. A complainant who is not satisfied with the resolution proffered by the preschool program administrator or the designee of the district superintendent has the right to file an appeal to the Superintendent.
(d) A local educational agency shall report summarized data on the nature and resolution of all complaints on a quarterly basis to the county superintendent of schools and the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency. The summaries shall be publicly reported on a quarterly basis at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency. The report shall include the number of complaints by general subject area with the number of resolved and unresolved complaints. The complaints and written responses shall be available as public records.
(e) In order to identify appropriate subjects of complaint, a notice shall be posted in each California state preschool program classroom in each school in the local educational agency notifying parents, guardians, pupils, and teachers of both of the following:
(1) The health and safety requirements under Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations that apply to California state preschool programs pursuant to Section 1596.7925 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) The location at which to obtain a form to file a complaint. Posting a notice downloadable from the Internet Web site of the department shall satisfy this requirement.
(f) A local educational agency shall establish local policies and procedures, post notices, and implement this section.
(g) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 32, Sec. 9. (AB 1808) Effective June 27, 2018.)