Hiring Timeline: Rolling

The SCSD seeks to fill this position as soon as possible. We will review applications as they are received.

Job Overview

The Executive Ombuds Officer for Student Discipline (EOO) is an Executive Director-level position; the EOO answers directly to the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) Superintendent. The EOO is charged with promoting procedural and substantive fairness and full compliance with the SCSD Code of Conduct, New York State Education Law § 3214, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which are incorporated in New York State law and regulations. The EOO accomplishes this by soliciting and taking complaints about student discipline from parents, students, and community advocates, investigating and evaluating these complaints, and serving as liaison with the SCSD administrative staff, including but not limited to the Executive Director of Student Support Services, the Director of Special Education, the Chief of Staff, and the Superintendent, to resolve these complaints.  The EOO also works to identify systemic issues that diminish fairness, impede full compliance with the Code of Conduct and the law, or impair full communication between the SCSD and parents, students, and community advocates.   

In carrying out the functions of this position, the EOO is guided by the principles of independence, impartiality, confidentiality, and informality. The EOO must be accessible, approachable, trustworthy, respectful, and knowledgeable of relevant law. The EOO does not participate in formal adjudicative or administrative procedures, but does provide information to parents, students, and community members about these procedures and the Code of Conduct to promote and encourage parents and students to fully engagement in students’ education and, where necessary, the student disciplinary process.          

Who We Want

Successful SCSD employees are passionately committed to urban education and all in for Syracuse students. They:

- Believe strongly that all students can learn at high levels;

- Demonstrate commitment to serving urban students, schools or communities, and to closing the achievement gap;

- Demonstrate willingness to put the interests of students above all others;

- Actively contribute to a culture of high expectations in schools and the district;

- Adapt seamlessly to the complexities of the urban school environment; and

- Follow current trends in education policy and research.

Specific Duties

Reporting to the Superintendent, the EOO will, at a minimum, perform the following:

- Maintain a consistent presence in the SCSD schools and in the Syracuse community.

- Advertise to parents, students, and community members the various means of contacting the EOO (via email, text, or telephone) to discuss a complaint.  Ensure that this process is professional, yet sufficiently informal so that parents, student, and community advocates are comfortable approaching the EOO with a problem. 

- Ensure that information conveyed by parents, students, and community advocates is kept confidential in compliance with FERPA.    

- Liaison with the appropriate administrative staff to resolve the complaint. The EOO is responsible for responding to each complaint, even if no action is taken on it.  If no action is taken, the EOO must maintain documentation as to why no action was necessary.  

- Develop and maintain a confidential system for recording each complaint which, at a minimum, includes the following information: the substance of the complaint, the date of the complaint, the action taken, and the date a response was provided to the parent, student, or community member who lodged the complaint. 

- Serve as resource to employees to ensure that they have the opportunity to raise concerns or suggestions regarding the District’s disciplinary policies, including any issues in connection with fairness and non-discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity.

- Provide oversight and guidance to the school-based Coordinators of Student Behavior, including the creation of a reporting schedule to update the Superintendent on the progress of implementation of the schools’ Preventative Strategies Plan. 

- Meet with school administrators, hearing officers and student advocates to elicit information about implementation of the Code of Conduct and the Assurance of Discontinuance between the SCSD and the New York State Attorney General’s Office.    

- The Ombudsman shall evaluate the performance of impartial hearing officers and Employees conducting MDRs based on climate assessments of students and parents, data collected and reviewed, and feedback from advocates. 

- On a quarterly basis, meet with the Superintendent and appropriate staff to review the report submitted by the Independent Monitor, the data maintained by the EEOSD, the information obtained from meeting with school administrators, hearing officers and student advocates.  The goal of this meeting is to identify specific systemic issues regarding implementation of the revised Code of Conduct and the Assurance of Discontinuance between the SCSD and the New York State Attorney General’s Office and to develop an action plan to address these issues.

- Work with community-based and professional organizations to develop informational materials to be made available to parents and students regarding the SCSD Code of Conduct, the school disciplinary process and student and parent rights during this process, as well as the rights of students with a disability or suspected disability who are being subjected to suspension.    

- At least once each academic semester, partner with a community-based or faith organization in the City of Syracuse to conduct a school discipline and Code of Conduct forum for parents, students, and other community members. During this forum, parents and students will be provided with information about the Code of Conduct and their rights during the student disciplinary process. Parents, students, and community members will also have an opportunity to ask questions, make comments about implementation of the Code of Conduct and the school district’s compliance with state and federal student discipline law, and identify systemic issues with implementation of the Code of Conduct and compliance with New York State and federal law as it pertains to student discipline.