FTE:  1.0

Salary Level: $137,427 - $171,484 DOE

Union/Days per year:  12-month Exempt; 260 days per year

Benefits: This job has the full range of benefits offered by Tacoma Public Schools.

Additional Information: This vacancy is posted as open until filled.
Please include a current resume and cover letter/letter of interest with your online application.

The Civil Rights Coordinator ensures that the District and its employees comply with legal obligations under federal and state civil rights laws. This position is responsible for monitoring the overall implementation of state and federal civil rights requirements for the school district, including chapters 28A.642 and 28A.640 RCW, and chapter 392-190 WAC. The focus of this position is to prevent discrimination and discriminatory harassment of students, employees, and others on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, and the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

1.     Provides guidance and training to school and district personnel on equity and civil rights issues and their obligations under nondiscrimination laws; Serves as a resource for administrators and district- and building-level staff about civil rights issues; Responds to questions and concerns about equity and civil rights in the school district and coordinates efforts to prevent civil rights violations from occurring.

2.    Implements the District’s discrimination complaint procedures; creates effective methods to annually inform all students, parents, and employees about the District’s discrimination complaint procedure, such as in staff and student handbooks; maintains copies of the complaint procedure and any related forms available in each school building to provide to students, parents, staff, and others who allege discrimination or discriminatory harassment; reviews District and building publications to ensure a consistent non-discrimination statement with contact information.

3.    Facilitates the implementation of the District’s policies and procedures related to discrimination and discriminatory harassment and ensures that they are applied consistently across the district and at each school building; Coordinates with General Counsel to revise District policies and procedures, as necessary, to ensure that they are up-to-date and consistent with current requirements under state and federal civil rights laws. Working with General Counsel, monitors compliance with state and federal civil rights laws and provides risk assessments and recommendation to District administration.

4.    Participates in the development and implementation of the of the District’s instructional materials policy and bias review criteria with respect to bias pertaining to sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, and the use of a trained dog guide or service animal in textbooks and instructional materials; ensures that the District evaluates all textbooks and instructional materials for bias, updates bias review criteria as needed; monitors school programs, activities, and services to ensure that all students are given an equal opportunity to participate without discrimination.

5.    Coordinates investigations of staff and student civil rights complaints in accordance with the District’s complaint procedures ensuring timelines are met. This may involve coordinating initial triage of complaints to determine the appropriate level of response, providing technical assistance to investigators about the legal standards and requirements relevant to the complaint, reviewing investigatory fact-finding, preparing the conclusion of investigations and supporting recommendations for corrective action.

6.     Provides technical assistance to school and District staff who are conducting other investigations alleging violations of District policies including but not limited to staff misconduct, student HIB, violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1982 and violations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

7.     Provides technical assistance and support at the conclusion of an investigation to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to prevent violations of civil rights or District policies going forward; assists in the development of support plans for staff and students and takes necessary action to prevent retaliation.   Responds to and follows-up with concerns about retaliation.

8.     Responds to written and verbal inquiries; advises administrators and supervisors in matters concerning civil rights violations, discrimination, or discriminatory harassment.; evaluates suggestions and recommendations from administrators and other District staff regarding the impact and implications of employee relations issues and complaints; communicates and coordinates with the Director of Labor Relations and Whole Educator Support, Director of Compliance and Investigations, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, legal counsel, administrators and union representatives regarding civil rights matters.

9.    Serves as the district’s liaison to OSPI’s Equity and Civil Rights Office and OCR; Ensures the District

submits all required reports to OSPI regarding civil rights compliance, including affirmative action plans and assurance reports.

10.  Serves as the District’s Gender-Inclusive Schools Coordinator under RCW 28A.642.080.  Obtains necessary training to oversee the District’s responsibility to create and maintain a safe, civil, respectful and inclusive learning community for all students regardless of gender expression, gender identity or sex. Serves as the primary contact between the District and the Office of Education Ombuds and OSPI.

11.  Coordinates with the Director of Athletics and Activities, School Athletic Directors and other administrators to provide technical assistance to support sex equity in athletics.   Supports compliance with Title IX and OSPI requirements including annual athletic evaluations.

12.  Supports General Counsel in reviewing systemic barriers such as disaggregated student discipline data, course and program enrollment, school programs (e.g. Highly Capable, Career and Technical Education).  Supports the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources to evaluate employment criteria, recruitment, compensation, job classification, benefits and advertising to ensure that they are not discriminatory.

OTHER JOB DUTIES

1.    Attends trainings for civil rights compliance coordinators and/or on civil rights issues generally, such as those offered by OSPI’s Equity and Civil Rights Office, and shares information with District administrators and staff.

2.    Maintains records of all complaints filed regarding civil rights, discrimination, and discriminatory harassment, including all formal and informal complaints. Reviews complaint files annually to ensure that the District’s complaint procedures and timelines are consistently being followed.

3.    May represent District in areas of assignment on potentially sensitive and controversial matters.

4.   Other duties as may be assigned.

5.   Regular, reliable, predictable attendance and physical presence onsite are essential job requirements and critical to the performance of the work.

CONDITIONS
Office environment; may experience prolonged confinement to workstation and exposure to video display; requires focused mental concentration; experiences frequent interruptions; requires flexibility and adaptability to shift tasks and priorities; must deal with numerous inflexible deadlines and competing time demands; experiences occasional contacts with difficult and sensitive situations and/or people; required to travel to District and community sites; occasionally required to travel outside of the community; required to work extended hours as needed including weekend and summer meetings and activities; may be required to lift and carry up to 20 pounds, bend, squat, stoop, kneel, crouch, walk, twist, bend, climb, and/or be mobile.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience

JD degree and at least three years of increasingly responsible legal experience with an emphasis on civil rights laws, preferably with experience in school settings; or any combination of experience and training which provides the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and ability required to perform the work.

Licenses/Special Requirements

Must maintain all licenses and certifications as a condition of continued employment.

Criminal Justice Fingerprint Background clearance

Must be a current member in good standing of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) and licensed to practice in the State of Washington.

Required 45 hours of continuing education every three years, and other WSBA licensing requirements as determined by WSBA.

Valid Washington State driver’s license.

Fingerprints and successful WSP and FBI background clearance/sexual misconduct clearance.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of current civil rights laws, regulations, and guidelines related to public schools, including chapters 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW, chapter 392-190 WAC, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as rules and guidelines adopted by OSPI and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Knowledge of employment and labor laws, regulations and guidelines related to a Washington public employer including RCW 49.60.180.

Knowledge of current trends and related laws and regulations which affect Washington public schools or similar local government organizations including public records laws.

Knowledge of resources and information available from OCR and OSPI’s Equity and Civil Rights Office.

Knowledge of pertinent statutes and court decisions applying to the field of education.

Knowledge of laws, rules, regulations, case law, principles, and practices related to Human Resources, employee conduct, employee performance and labor/employee investigations.

Knowledge of research and investigative methods, of collaborative problem-solving and teamwork methods.

Skill in obtaining, clarifying, distilling, and conveying information with diverse audiences.

Skill in oral and written communication.

Skill in time management.

Skill in excellence in listening.

Skill in effective decision making and problem solving.

Skill in risk identification and minimization.

Skill in effective research and analysis techniques.

Skill in making clear, effective and convincing oral presentations.

Skill in presenting complex cases.

Skill in investigative interviewing procedures and techniques.

Skill in teambuilding.

Ability to think logically and creatively.

Ability to work with and diffuse difficult and sensitive situations.

Ability to work with difficult or distraught people.

Ability to evaluate legal issues and recommend appropriate courses of action.

Ability to advise and counsel management and top-level executives.

Ability to develop and assist with legal strategies in support of District operations in areas of assignment.

Ability to demonstrate individual initiative, to accept responsibility and be held accountable.

Ability to participate as part of a team, to motivate and influence others and team processes.

Ability to coordinate multiple activities simultaneously, to organize, prioritize, and maintain good follow through.

Ability to maintain confidentiality.

Ability to lead and facilitate groups and make effective public presentations.

Ability to demonstrate reasonable, reliable and regular attendance.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of people in a multi-cultural, diverse socio-economic setting.

Ability to demonstrate core competencies of integrity, collaboration, accountability, problem solving, decision making and achieving results.

Ability to demonstrate position specific competencies of strategic agility, innovation management, managerial courage, conflict management and dealing with ambiguity.