Superintendent outlines OCR resolution and timeline after 2022 club incident

Superintendent Kim Sheehan told the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Board on Feb. 11 that the district has negotiated a voluntary resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) after a club event on Oct. 26, 2022 prompted internal and state investigations.

"So we have received a complaint from the Office of Civil Rights," Sheehan said as she described the timeline. Sheehan said the district originally investigated the incident, the California Department of Education closed the district's case on Jan. 20, 2023, and a separate OCR complaint was filed Feb. 23, 2023. The district and its attorneys negotiated a proposed agreement, and OCR accepted the voluntary resolution on Dec. 26, 2024, Sheehan said.

Sheehan outlined five sections in the resolution agreement and several near‑term deadlines. Among the actions the district must submit to OCR are a draft student letter (to be submitted for OCR approval and then sent to involved students), an anti‑harassment statement for OCR approval and posting, training materials and documentation for faculty and students, a climate assessment and an outside consultant for a school climate plan, and submission of all race/color/national‑origin complaint resolutions for specified school years. "We have 30 days to respond with a voluntary resolution," Sheehan said, describing the district's timeline for negotiation and submission.

Sheehan emphasized the district's intent to protect anonymity of students and advisors as required by the agreement and said attorneys are coordinating precise timing and documentation. Board members responded with support for transparency and framing the work as a learning and reparative opportunity for the community.