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Ombuds Procedures

These Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) establish guidelines for the responsibilities related to the Ombuds. The Ombuds shall operate under the Core Values of Independence, Impartiality, Confidentiality, and Informality, as encompassed in the International Ombuds Association’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice set forth in this document. 

A. Definition and Purpose of Ombudsman 

An Ombudsman, or Ombuds is a liaison who serves as an independent, neutral, and confidential resource, assisting all stakeholders in resolving complaints, conflicts, and other school-related issues. 

The purpose of the Ombuds is to provide students, families, employees, and community members with access to an independent, impartial individual who can facilitate a confidential and informal resolution of concerns, conflicts, and issues arising within Richmond Public Schools (RPS), and who is authorized to bring systemic and organizational concerns to the attention of the Division Leadership for resolution.

The resolution process provided by the Ombuds is not intended to replace or supersede the formal and/or legal procedures provided by the School Board or by law for the filing, investigation, and resolution of complaints asserted against, by, or on behalf of individual students or employees under other School Board policies and regulations. Rather, the services of the Ombuds supplement formal channels for the resolution of complaints. Use of the Ombuds is voluntary and is not a required step in any grievance or complaint procedure. 

B. Scope of Authority and Independence

The Ombuds is a designated neutral reporting to the highest possible level of the organization and operating independent of ordinary line and staff structures. Although the Ombuds shall function independently from control, limitation, influence, or interference by any individual School Board member or RPS employee, the Ombuds shall be supervised for budgetary and evaluative purposes by the Director of Advocacy and Outreach and the Director of Multilingual Learner Success. The Ombuds shall be subject to all applicable policies of the School Board. The Ombuds shall remain impartial/neutral and shall hold no other position within or beyond RPS that would otherwise compromise their independence. The Ombuds shall have access to all necessary information and individuals within the School Division, to the extent permitted by law and School Board policies and regulations. [Link]  The Ombuds does not have the authority to make binding decisions, mandate policies, regulations, or procedures, formally arbitrate nor adjudicate issues for RPS. 

Informality. The Ombuds shall be a resource for informal resolution. The Ombuds shall not investigate, arbitrate, adjudicate or in any other way participate in any internal or external formal process or action. The Ombuds may compile general data to monitor recurring themes or concerns but will not create detailed case records or share any data that could compromise the confidentiality of individuals who contact the Ombuds. Any data shared is for trend analysis only and is not connected to identifiable individuals.

Receipt of Concerns and Confidentiality. RPS employees may refer individuals or groups to the Ombuds but shall not require individuals to contact or resolve concerns with that person. The Ombuds may assist constituents in person, by phone, or by letter or electronic communication, but, in all cases, they shall hold all communications with those seeking assistance in confidence and shall take all reasonable steps to preserve the confidentiality of those constituents. However, the Ombuds may unilaterally violate confidentiality if the Ombuds believes there is an imminent risk of serious harm, or if maintaining confidentiality would violate applicable law. Where circumstances exist that involve suspected child abuse and neglect, the Ombuds shall contact Child Protective Services as a mandated reporter. The Ombuds shall not otherwise reveal the identity of any individual contacting the Ombuds, nor reveal information provided in confidence that could lead to the identification of any individual contacting that office, without the express permission of that contact, then only to the extent necessary to resolve the issue. The Ombuds shall exercise discretion over how best to respond to a concern. 

If an individual making a complaint wishes to remain anonymous, RPS will respect their request and keep their identity confidential. However, if the complaint needs to be formally escalated, RPS will not be able to contact the anonymous complainant with updates or outcomes related to the issue. Complainants should be aware that all public records and written correspondence with RPS staff, including the Ombuds, may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and RPS cannot guarantee the complete anonymity of any complainant.

Access to Records.The Ombuds is deemed an RPS “school official,” in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and is authorized to access students’ education records without a parent’s/guardian’s or eligible student’s consent if the Ombuds needs to review those records in order to fulfill their professional responsibility. 

Neutrality and Impartiality. The Ombuds shall remain neutral, impartial, and unaligned. The Ombuds strives for impartiality, fairness and objectivity in the treatment of people and the consideration of issues. The Ombuds advocates for fair and equitably administered processes and does not advocate on behalf of any individual within the organization. All members of the community served by the Ombuds may voluntarily seek their services and shall be treated with dignity and respect. The Ombuds shall consider the legitimate concerns and interests of all individuals and groups affected by the matter under consideration. The Ombuds shall have no interest or stake in, and incur no gain or loss from, the outcome of an issue. 

Protection from Retaliation. The Division prohibits retaliation against any administrator, faculty, employee, family member, or student for using the services provided by the Ombuds. The Ombuds shall not be subject to retaliation by any person who may be the subject of a complaint. 

C. Limitations. 

The Ombuds shall not conduct formal investigations. However, the Ombuds may assist with the resolution of individual concerns asserted by employees or students at the request of the Division Superintendent, Chiefs,  or the Director of Advocacy and Outreach.

D. Reporting Complaints to the Ombuds Does Not Constitute Notice of Claims. 

Communications made to the Ombuds shall not constitute notice to the School Board, RPS, or its administration or employees, for any purpose, including claims asserted under local, state, or federal law, including, but not limited to FOIA, FERPA, Title VI or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or for any other legal or administrative purpose. However, the Ombuds shall refer individuals to the appropriate individual or location where notice can be made, and, in the event that an individual does not immediately contact Child Protective Services of suspected child abuse or neglect or report allegations of Bullying or Title IX sexual harassment to the Title IX Coordinator, the Ombuds shall do so as a mandated reporter per RPS School Board Policy.

E. Data Collection and Reporting. 

An important role of the Ombuds is the identification of trends, issues, and systemic concerns involving RPS policies, regulations, procedures, and organizational practices, or lack thereof. The Ombuds shall compile data documenting the nature and number of concerns received, and shall use such data, without breaching confidentiality or anonymity, to: make a report and recommendations to RPS Stakeholders, School Board and Division Leadership on an annual basis, and may provide supplementary reports if requested—to include the activities conducted by the Ombuds; identify trends ; and inform recommendations for systemic and organizational change, improvement or resolution within RPS, its schools, and departments. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Ombuds will elevate systemic concerns and trends to the appropriate offices within the Division as they arise and will also include such relevant information in the annual report the Ombuds provides. 

F. Specific Duties of the Ombuds:

  • Serve as a neutral fact finder to assist in solving problems.
  • Serve as a source of information and referral regarding state and federal laws and regulations governing public education.
  • Serve as a networker to connect stakeholders with the appropriate RPS departments and staff.
  • Serve as a resource for school staff to receive support, strategies, information, and guidance regarding serving families and students.
  • Provide information or support to assist constituents in navigating RPS educational processes. 
  • Promote collaboration and communication between constituencies, stakeholders, and RPS staff. 
  • Provide a confidential place for RPS constituents and stakeholders to explore options in order to make an informed decision.

The Ombuds shall:

  • Provide outreach to current and prospective public school students and their parents or guardians, and to further this purpose, have the cooperation of all individuals within RPS;
  • Assist families in navigating RPS administrative or educational processes;
  • Encourage communication between RPS schools and current and prospective RPS students and their parents or guardians regarding public education in a language that is comprehensible to the families;
  • Maintain a general trends database to track common issues and themes, categorized by grade level and school, without documenting specific details or individual resolutions. This tracking is solely for the purpose of identifying patterns and does not include any identifiable information, ensuring the confidentiality of all individuals involved;
  • Identify systemic concerns and recommend to the School Board, Superintendent, or his designee, policy changes, staff training, and strategies to improve public education;
  • Identify school level concerns based upon a pattern of complaints or concerns and recommend changes to improve delivery of education services. 
  • Within 120 days after the end of each school year, submit to the School Board, and make publicly available, a report summarizing the work of the Ombuds during the previous school year, which shall include an analysis of the types of and number of complaints received;
  • Have access to records, files, reports, findings, and all other papers, items or documents belonging to or in use by all departments in accordance with RPS acceptable use policy;
  • Have the permission to be present for instruction or other school activities at any RPS school; 
  • Examine the facts around an alleged act or failure to act of any RPS school employee;
  • Bring persons together to resolve conflicts that are not in formal legal proceedings, in accordance with the restorative practices guidelines set by the Department of Culture, Climate, and Student Services;
  • Serve as a vehicle for current and prospective RPS students and parents or guardians to communicate the complaints and concerns regarding public education;
  • Respond to complaints and concerns in a timely fashion with accurate and helpful information;
  • Refer complainants to a public agency department, or external resource, when appropriate;
  • Relay to the chief and/ or directors any and all complaints and concerns that require an audit or investigation of a school or a program, agency, department, or staff member that falls within the purview of the director or chief; 
  • Forward to the chief and/ or directors any information that the Ombuds determines would be helpful to prevent and detect corruption, mismanagement, waste, fraud, abuse, and violation of Federal and State mandates pertinent to the education of multilingual learners and multilingual parents or guardians.   

The Ombuds shall not:

  1. Act as an advocate, as the Ombuds is a neutral party;
  2. Attend mediation meetings on behalf of someone;
  3. Disclose personally identifiable information regarding any person who brings a complaint or raises a concern to the Ombuds, unless the Ombuds determines that disclosure is unavoidable or necessary to further the resolution of an incident;
  4. Receive or address grievances unrelated to the comprehensive educational process for multilingual students and/ or constituents. 

G. Complaint Process Standard Proceedings: 

  1. The Ombuds shall provide complaint resolution services, which shall be available to current and prospective students and families.
  2. Filing a complaint with the Ombuds is completely voluntary.
  3. Before submitting a complaint to the Ombuds, the complainant shall make reasonable efforts to resolve the issue at the school level.
  4. Complaints may submit complaints by phone, in writing, or electronically using the submission form. 
  5. The Ombuds shall review each complaint.
  6. The Ombuds may gather information from involved parties in order to understand multiple perspectives regarding the concern. 
  7. After gathering information, the Ombuds shall do one or more of the following: 
  • Resolve the complaint;
  • Ask the complainant to submit documentation to support the complaint;
  • Refer the complainant to an outside agency or organization;
  • Share resources or information with the complainant that may assist in gaining knowledge of tools and strategies necessary to advocate for students’ educational needs;
  • Explain RPS policies and procedures;
  • Request an opportunity for the complainant to meet with the supervisor of the subject of complaint when appropriate;
  • Forward the complaint to the Director of the involved school or department and the Director of Advocacy;
  • The Ombuds will work closely with the Director of Advocacy & Outreach and the Chief Engagement Officer to determine any additional steps needed to address the complaint.

If the Ombuds finds escalating the complaint is necessary: 

  1. The Ombudsman will escalate the complaint to the Director of the involved school or department via email, CC the Director of Advocacy and Outreach, and inform the complainant of such action the same day.
  2. Within 48 business hours, the recipient of the escalation will respond to the Ombuds and Director of Advocacy and Outreach via email acknowledging receipt of the escalated complaint. 
    • If no response is received within 48 business hours, the complaint will be escalated to the Chief of the involved school or department and cc: the Chief Engagement Officer. 
  3. When applicable, the Director will consult with the Director of Advocacy & Outreach and the Ombuds on relevant division policy, and state and federal laws. 
  4. Within 5 business days:
    • The Director will provide an update to the Ombuds and the Director of Advocacy & Outreach via email that includes:
      1. Initial findings;
      2. What specific remedial action will be taken and by when;
      3. Next steps in the process;
      4. Timeline to resolution;
      5. How they intend to follow up with the complainant.
  5. Unless a particular process has a different timeline due to extenuating circumstances, upon conclusion of the investigation, the Director will notify the Ombuds and Director of Advocacy & Outreach, in writing, of the incident’s final outcome and actions taken within no more than 30 days of initial escalation.