ARTICLE IV GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

North Providence School District

Section 1. A grievance shall mean a complaint by the Union or by a teacher and the Union that there has been a violation, misinterpretation or inequitable application of any of the provisions of this agreement, or that a member of the bargaining unit has been treated unfairly or inequitably or discriminated against for any reason.

Grievances shall be handled in the following manner: All grievances shall be submitted in writing on a special "Grievance Report" form in duplicate, signed by both the aggrieved teacher and the Union representative or a member of the Grievance Committee, and the report filed with the Principal. A copy of the grievance report form is attached and made part of this contract as Appendix A.

Step    1. A meeting shall be held between the aggrieved teacher, a Union representative, and/or a member of the Grievance Committee and the Principal of the school and a member of the school department to resolve the grievance. The Principal will arrange a meeting within four (4) school days from the time a grievance is received by him/her, and he/she shall give the Union his/her answer in writing within two (2) school days after such meeting. If the matter is not satisfactorily settled; then,

Step    2. A meeting shall be held between the aggrieved teacher, his/her Union representative, and/or a member of the Grievance Committee and the Superintendent and other individuals relevant to the grievance. The Superintendent will arrange a meeting within five (5) school days from the time a grievance is referred to him/her, and he/she shall give the Union his/her answer in writing within five (5) school days after such meeting. If the matter is not satisfactorily settled; then,

Step    3. A meeting shall be held between the Employer, Superintendent and other individuals relevant to the grievance and not more than three (3) Union representatives; the aggrieved teacher may or may not be present, at the option of the teacher. Attorneys for either side and/or the aggrieved teacher may be present at any step. The Employer will arrange a meeting within twenty-five (25) school days from the time a grievance is referred to them. The Employer will give the Union its answer in writing within ten (10) school days after such meeting. If the matter is not satisfactorily settled not later than thirty (30) calendar days following the receipt by the Union of the Employer's written answer; then,

Step 4. The grievance shall be referred, at the request of either the Employer or the Union, to an Arbitrator selected pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The cost of such arbitration shall be paid for equally by the Union and the Employer. The settlement of any dispute at any stage of the foregoing procedures or the decision of the Arbitrator of any such dispute shall be final and binding upon all parties concerned. No adjustment resulting from a grievance processed through this procedure shall be retroactive to a date preceding the date on which the action or matter referred to in the grievance last occurred previous to the presentation of
the grievance in Step 1.

In cases where the grievance steps cannot be completed during a school year and in cases of grievances initiated during the summer vacation period, the meeting and response time limits listed in Steps 1, 2 and 3 shall be weekdays rather than school days.

Section 2. A general grievance shall be specified as being a General Grievance, and it shall be submitted in writing on the special "Grievance Report" form in duplicate, signed by the President of the Union or his/her representative, and filed with the Superintendent. A general grievance shall be processed in the same manner outlined in the Grievance Procedure, but starting with Step 2.

Section 3. For purposes of processing grievances, a Union representative shall be the appropriate regular building delegate from the school concerned, or a member of the Grievance Committee. If the appropriate building delegate is not available, another delegate or an alternate delegate shall serve in his/her stead. The Employer shall be supplied with a current list of all building delegates, alternates, and members of the Grievance Committee, together with any changes as they occur.

Section 4. Any grievance which is not presented within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the occurrence shall be deemed to be waived unless the grievant was not aware of the circumstances which gave rise to the grievance. The counting of the thirty (30) days shall stop on the last school day prior to vacations and resume upon the reopening of school.

Section 5. Except in the circumstances listed in part two below, the following information shall be confidential and may not be released or otherwise made available to the public by the parties to this agreement without written agreement by the school department and the union.

(a) The substance of filed grievance complaint forms or attachments thereto.

(b) Transcripts of grievance hearings.

(c) Transcripts of arbitration hearings.

(d) Administrative, school committee or arbitration decisions relating thereto.

2. Exceptions:

(a) To the extent such information is deemed to be public information as defined by relevant federal or state law, rule or regulation.

(b) To the extent disclosure of such information may be or is required or mandated by applicable federal or state law, rule, regulation, judicial opinion, subpoena or order.

(c) To the extent either the union or school department seeks to utilize the same regarding asserting any of their respective rights in any proceeding, grievance, arbitration or similar matter.

Section 6. Special Education grievances arising from issues of interpretation or implementation of State or Federal laws or regulations shall be heard exclusively by the Rhode Island Department of Education.