Any applicant for admission, enrolled student, applicant for employment or employee of Renton Technical College who believes she/he has been discriminated against on any unlawful basis, including sex, marital status, race, color, national origin, handicap/disability, age, or religion, may lodge an institutional grievance by following the procedures below.

(1) All applicants, employees, and students should feel free to discuss perceived discrimination with the individual responsible and with the person immediately in charge, such as the first-line supervisor or instructor, to see if the situation can be resolved informally. Applicants, employees, and students may also consult directly and confidentially with the college affirmative action officer without making a formal written complaint. However, they are not required to use the informal process and may go directly to the formal procedure.

(2) Any college official receiving any discrimination complaint shall contact the affirmative action officer or designee as soon as practicable. The college official shall arrange for the complainant to receive a copy of the complaint procedure.

Employees and students may make a written complaint concerning discriminatory behavior to the affirmative action officer or his/her designee.

(1) Complaints will be held in confidence to the extent this is reasonably possible. No action against the person accused will ordinarily be taken on behalf of the complainant unless the complainant consents to be identified to the accused, although the college reserves all rights to take appropriate corrective measures regardless of the actions of the complainant.

(2) The complainant or accused may bring a person of his or her choice to any meetings about the complaint.

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

(4) The affirmative action officer will meet, consult, and investigate as he/she deems appropriate. An informal hearing may be substituted for or added to an investigation if the complainant and the accused agree. The affirmative action officer or designee will be responsible for conducting any such hearing.

(5) The affirmative action officer or designee shall promptly communicate his/her findings to both the complainant and the accused, and then shall make a written report of those findings and a recommendation to the appropriate disciplinary authority or other college official (but not one who would hear any appeal).

(6) Appropriate corrective measures, if any, will be decided by the appropriate disciplinary authority or official. If an accused employee or student disagrees with the determination or appropriateness of the corrective measures, that individual may contest those measures through any available faculty or classified grievance procedures, if they are covered by a bargained agreement, or the student code appeal procedure.

(7) Information will be entered in a 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 for a period of three years and then that record will be destroyed. If a complaint is filed with an outside state or federal agency, files will be maintained until that 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 495E-300-010 through 495E-300-030, are internal college procedures and, as such, serve to resolve complaints within the college's administrative framework. These procedures do not restrict or replace an individual's right to file a timely complaint with an external agency such as the Office of Civil Rights, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the Washington state human rights commission.

Students with documented disabilities who meet admission qualifications will be provided reasonable accommodation. Accommodations may be made in the style of instructional delivery, method of evaluation, or curricular aides. The college will not lower the standard measurement of competency for the certificate of merit or the standards of a degree.

Specific support services and auxiliary aide should be determined prior to registration. State vocational rehabilitation agencies or common school districts charged with providing support to handicapped students will retain primacy of responsibility for necessary auxiliary aids.

Renton Technical College encourages all students to achieve the highest level of skill development possible, as well as to achieve the ability to function independently in the workplace. Therefore, accommodations will be provided on a decreasing basis to the extent that the student's reasonable requirements diminish as the student becomes increasingly successful in training and nears job placement.