The Acushnet Public School Nutrition Department will comply with the Civil Rights Requirements outlined in FNS Instruction 113-1 and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service Civil Rights Division and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office for Food and Nutrition Programs. If a participant, parent/guardian, or potential participant reports a concern that involves a federally or state protected class we will inform, accept, document, and share the complaint or concern in accordance with the procedures outlined here.

Inform: the person to whom potential discrimination may have or perhaps they feel have potentially occurred and their right to file an official complaint. Consider if parental/guardian notification is appropriate.

• Offer to share the complaint process steps and let them know it can be submitted anonymously.

• Ask if they would like to submit an official complaint.

• If no, ask the person how you can help. Clarify what they want you to do with the information

  they are giving you. This may be a person who is reporting a concern because they want

  you/someone to help them and is NOT interested in submitting an official Civil Rights Complaint.

• When the person reports satisfaction that the issue has been resolved, no further steps need

  to be taken.

• If yes, walk them through USDA's complaint process and clarify if they want to use USDA's

  process on their own or if they want you to "accept" their complaint or help them submit to

  USDA.

  • If they would like to submit the complaint on their own, ask if you can do anything else to

    help resolve the issue in the meantime and no further steps need to be taken.

  • If they would like you to “accept” the complaint: Accept, Document and Share the

    Complaint per instructions below.

Accept: an official complaint in any form.

• Remember before beginning this step: Someone can be "reporting a concern” they would like

  addressed but NOT submitting an official Civil Rights complaint. Be sure to clarify what their

  intention is. If they choose NOT to submit an official Civil Rights complaint continue to reach a

  resolution that is mutually agreed upon.

• How SO accept complaints should be determined at the local level and described here. Note when

  developing these procedures there are somethings you will want to keep in mind.

  • The complaint procedures cannot prevent a complaint from being accepted.

  • Procedures cannot require that following the complaint process be a pre-requisite for

    accepting a complaint

  • The school can’t require that a complaint only be submitted through one form, or person or

    at a specific date/time. They can offer the use of a standard form or refer them to a specific

    person but ultimately if a person wants to submit a complaint verbally in the moment that

    complaint needs to be accepted.

Document: The complaint in a complaint log specific to Child Nutrition Programs.

• How was the complaint given? In writing or verbally?

• Staff member who received the complaint must transcribe it.

• Essentially, whoever receives a complaint needs to document the event by filling out the fields on

  the complaint log.

• If a complaint is given verbally a detailed record of the complaint must be taken.

• At a minimum, the log must contain the complainant(s) name, contact information, the location

  (including country), nature and date of the alleged discrimination. Name of individual(s) and

  organization(s) alleged to have engaged in discrimination, basis of alleged discrimination, date of

  referral to FNS CRD, the findings of any investigation by FNS, and a descriptive disposition of

  the final complaint including any corrective action planned or taken.

Share: The complaint within 5 days with FNS CRD.

• Send a copy of the complaint you accepted by any of the following methods:

• mail:

  • U.S. Department of Agriculture

    
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

    
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW

    
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

• fax: (202) 690-7442; or

• email: program.intake@usda.gov

If you would like support in responding to reported concerns or Civil Rights complaints you can contact FNP at Nutriton@doe.mass.edu or call 781-338-6480, for technical assistance.