The city’s Board of Education took a step this week towards adopting a whistleblower policy designed to prohibit retaliation against employees who speak out in good faith about suspected misconduct within the school district.
The school board’s Governance Committee discussed that proposed new policy during a special, online-only meeting held on Tuesday afternoon.
Board of Education members Abie Benitez and Daniel Juarez looked over the district’s draft whistleblower policy alongside New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Asst. Supt. Kristina DeNegre.
The proposal now heads to the full board for further review and a potential final vote.
The proposed policy states, “Employees, contractors, and subrecipients have the right to report, in good faith, any suspected misconduct, waste, fraud, abuse, or violations of laws, regulations, or grant requirements. Reports may be made to program leadership, the governing body, appropriate federal agencies, or other authorized entities.”
The policy also cites “federal whistleblower protection laws, including 10 U.S.C. § 2409,” as strictly prohibiting “retaliation against any individual who discloses information that they reasonably believe is evidence of gross mismanagement, gross waste of federal funds, abuse of authority, or a violation of law related to a federal contract or grant.”
The policy defines retaliation as including “termination, demotion, suspension, harassment, discrimination, or any other adverse employment action.”
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