Thorough DASA Investigations Help Protect the District

The Commissioner of Education recently handed down a decision that highlights the importance of thorough investigations and carefully following a district’s own policies in handling DASA investigations. Appeal of LP, Dec.# 18,552.

In Appeal of LP, a parent reported to a school district that a child had been “unkind” to a third-grade classmate. In response, the Principal and Vice-Principal directed the students to “take a break from each other” and moved one of the students to a different table during lunch, among other separation techniques. That parent then filed a DASA complaint against the Principal and Vice-Principal for harassing and bullying her daughter by forcing her to be separated from her friend group. The district investigated and issued a finding that the allegations were without merit. The parent then filed a complaint with the Commissioner.

The Commissioner stated: “A district’s Dignity Act determination will only be reversed upon a showing that it was arbitrary or capricious.” The Commissioner noted that the investigator investigated several witnesses, including ten students, a teacher, and a school psychologist, who gave an opinion about the two students’ sensitivities, and that one student tended to hang on to minor social conflicts in a way that was typical for the age and to rehash them. The investigator also interviewed two other employees and reviewed emails between the district and complaining parent.

The Commissioner, noting the school psychologist’s report, found that the district had done a thorough investigation and reached a reasonable conclusion based on the investigation. Therefore, the DASA investigation was found not to be arbitrary or capricious and so the parent’s appeal was rejected.

Separately, the district had a very complicated appeal structure created by its policies that the Commissioner found did not clearly create a mandatory appeal to the Superintendent and, even if it did, was not clearly communicated to the parents and, therefore, not binding on the family.

The first lesson from this case is that a thorough investigation of a DASA complaint conducted in accordance with the relevant district policies will help the district prevail in an appeal to the Commissioner because it will make it very difficult for the Commissioner to find that a district acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner in response to a given DASA complaint. Complying with a district’s policies when responding to a complaint is also important in the event of a subsequent lawsuit, because violating a district’s own policies regarding how complaints will be treated can help a plaintiff show that a district responded to bullying/harassment in a negligent manner.

The second lesson is that the DASA coordinator should thoroughly review any DASA policies for how the investigation is to be conducted, what procedures apply, and if the policy creates an appeal procedure. This investigation process and any internal appeal procedure should be clearly communicated to the family making the complaint in order to avoid confusion regarding the investigation and any internal appeal process. For this reason, we recommend keeping investigations and any appeal procedures as streamlined as legally permissible. A simple process creates fewer opportunities for errors that could provide a basis for a ruling in favor of a parent in the event of an appeal to the Commissioner.

Conducting a thorough investigation and making a finding in accordance with its policy will help protect the interests of the students in question, while also helping the district to mount a successful defense if a family later brings a negligent supervision claim arising out of the alleged bullying/harassment. If you have any questions regarding DASA investigation procedures, the availability of an internal appeal process, or conducting a thorough investigation, we would be happy to provide assistance.