An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 12 - Investigations

believes the parent’s presence will put the student at ease, assist the fact gathering process, and not influence the student’s statements, the school should contact the parent first. However, if the school has reason to believe the parent will interfere with an interview or the interview process, the school might decide to interview the student first and then advise the parent the interview has occurred. In particular, investigators should evaluate, when the facts are still largely unknown, whether a possibility exists that a student is accusing an employee of conduct that is actually occurring in or has some other connection to the student’s home.  Always interview students separately and not in a group setting. Remember to ask student witnesses whom they have spoken to about the subject matter before the interview. The investigator should assess to what extent the student’s report has been influenced by rumor or the experiences/observations of others.

E. C ONCLUDING T HE I NVESTIGATION At the completion of the “gathering the facts” phase of the investigation, the investigator should have:  Gathered and reviewed all relevant documents;  Gathered and reviewed all physical evidence; and  Conducted interviews with the complainant, the alleged wrongdoer, and percipient witnesses and any needed follow-up interviews. The investigator should be satisfied that he or she has obtained the needed information to make factual determinations. A. R EVIEW T HE I NVESTIGATION B INDER At the end of the fact gathering process, the investigator’s binder should contain the following:  The school’s applicable policies and rules, and complaint and investigation procedure;  All documents gathered during the investigation;  All physical evidence or photographs of physical evidence gathered during the investigation; and  Notes of each interview, any signed witness statements, or transcriptions of interviews that were tape recorded. Section 6 E VALUATING T HE F ACTS

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 468