Community College District XXIII is covered by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of handicap in education. Any applicant for admission, enrolled student, applicant for employment or employee of Edmonds Community College who believes she/he has been discriminated against on the basis of handicap may lodge an institutional grievance by following the procedures below.

All employees and students should feel free to discuss perceived discrimination with the individual immediately in charge, such as the first-line supervisor or instructor, to see if the situation can be resolved informally. Employees and students may also consult directly with the college affirmative action officer or coordinator for disabled student services without making a formal written complaint, and this consultation will be considered confidential. Employees and students are not required to use the informal process and may go directly to the formal procedure.

Any college official receiving a discrimination complaint shall contact the affirmative action officer or designee as soon as reasonably convenient. The college official shall arrange for the complainant to receive a copy of the grievance procedure.

Step one: Employees and students must make a written complaint concerning discriminatory behavior to the affirmative action officer or designee.

(1) Complaints will be held in confidence. No action against the person accused will be taken on behalf of the complainant unless the complainant consents to be identified to the one accused in connection with the investigation.

(2) The complainant may bring a person of his or her choice to the initial or subsequent complaint meetings.

(3) The affirmative action officer or designee shall give a copy of these regulations and the board policy to any person making a formal complaint and to the accused.

(4) The result of that consultation and any investigation made will be communicated to the complainant before any further action is taken.

(5) An informal hearing may be substituted for investigation if the complainant and the accused agree. The affirmative action officer or designee will be responsible for investigating the complaint and discussing the complaint with the one accused. The affirmative action officer will make a written recommendation to the president within a reasonable time following the close of the investigation or hearing.

(6) Appropriate corrective measures will be decided by the president of the college upon consultation with the affirmative action officer and the appropriate administrators or supervisors involved. If an accused employee or student disagrees with the determination or appropriateness of the corrective measures, that individual may contest those measures through the formal faculty or classified grievance procedures, if they are covered by an agreement, or the student disciplinary code.

(7) Information will be entered in the personnel or student file only to the extent that a formal reprimand or other disciplinary action has been taken. If no disciplinary action is taken, the affirmative action officer will keep a record of the investigation accessible to the president, the complainant and the accused for a period of three years and then that record will be destroyed. If a formal complaint is filed with an outside state or federal agency, files will be maintained until the complaint is resolved. When such files are used, written notice will be placed in the file indicating the person using the file and the date used.

These procedures, outlined in WAC 132Y-310-010 through 132Y-310-030, are internal college procedures and, as such, serve to resolve complaints within the college's administrative framework. These procedures do not replace an individual's timely complaint with an external agency such as the Office of Civil Rights, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the Washington state human rights commission.