Grievance Procedure Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the New York State Education Department. Employment-related complaints of disability discrimination are covered elsewhere, in policies available from the Office of Human Resource Management.
The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. No particular format of the complaint is required. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.
The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or their designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:
Elatisha Kirnon, Director
Office of Diversity & Access
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12234
(518) 474-5215
diversity@nysed.gov
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will acknowledge receipt and, if deemed appropriate, contact the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of contact, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille, or audio. The response will explain the position of the New York State Education Department and where appropriate, offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.
If the response by the ADA Coordinator or their designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his or her designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM) or their designee.
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the OHRM or their designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with NYSED’s ’s final resolution of the complaint, or indicating that the matter has been returned to the ADA Coordinator for further action. If further action is indicated, the complainant will be contacted within 15 days from the written response with a determination.
All written complaints received by the ADA Coordinator or their designee, appeals to the OHRM or their designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the New York State Education Department for at least three years.