GBA - Board of Education Hotline
Created 1 June 2021
Modified: 16 February 2026
GBA – Education Hotline Complaints
Education Hotline
The State Board of Education has established a hotline to provide an avenue for citizens, including District employees and contractors, to report alleged violations of law or State Board of Education regulations, including by members of the Board of Education.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-123-2 (August 7, 2025)
Utah Admin. Rules R277-123-7(3) (August 7, 2025)
Hotline Notice and Link
The District’s website and the website for each school in the District shall include a prominent notice stating, “Complaints or concerns can be filed by following the process as outlined here. Hotline complaints go directly to the State Board of Education Internal Audit Department and may be referred back to the District.” The notice shall include a link to the State Board of Education webpage which describes the process for filing a hotline complaint and which includes a link to the form used to submit a hotline complaint.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-123-7(4) (August 7, 2025)
https://www.schools.utah.gov/internalaudit/index#Public%20Education%20Hotline
Response to Hotline Complaints
Those Board members or District administrators to whom a hotline referral from the Internal Audit Division is directed shall, after appropriate consultation with other Board members or District administrators, conduct or direct the District’s evaluation of and response to the hotline complaint. Where the complaint is directed to a specific individual, that individual should generally not be involved in conducting the investigation or determining the response to the complaint.
If the complainant’s contact information is provided to or available to the District, the District must promptly contact the complainant and must document the District personnel that contacted the complainant, the type of contact made (such as phone or email), the date of the contact, and the results of the contact (resolution of the concern or action steps to be taken). The District must make at least two good-faith efforts to contact the complainant. If the District has been unable to contact the complainant after those efforts, the District will proceed to evaluate and respond to the complaint without input from the complainant.
The District shall disclose information about the allegations of the complaint only to the extent necessary to investigate the complaint consistent with the District’s policies relating to student and employee privacy.
The District’s investigation shall meet the requirements of due process, District policies, and other law. Generally, an investigator or investigators should be appointed to review the allegations, gather evidence relating to the allegations, and evaluate the allegations and determine the appropriate response or make recommendations on the appropriate response to those directing the District’s evaluation and response.
The District shall timely respond to the Internal Audit Division regarding the complaint, as provided below. In addition, to the extent that the investigation discloses conduct which violates District policies or warrants disciplinary action under District policies, the applicable District processes shall be followed. If the District determines that the allegations in the complaint are issues that are the sole responsibility of the District or are allegations that are required to be evaluated according to District policy, the District may provide that response to the Internal Audit Division.
Generally, the District is required to respond to the Internal Audit Division within 45 days of receiving the referred complaint. However, if the complaint relates to prohibited discriminatory practices, trainings, or submissions as described in Utah Code § 53G-2-103, § 53G-2-104, and § 53G-2-105, the District is required to respond within 14 days of receiving the referred complaint. A complaint is “resolved” when the District’s investigation and evaluation has been completed (it does not mean or require that the findings are satisfactory to any specific individual, entity, or the District). If the complaint has not been resolved within the applicable time, the District will provide an initial response and will then update the Internal Audit Division every 30 days until the complaint is resolved.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-123-7(5) – (12) (August 7, 2025)
Training
The President of the Board of Education shall ensure that members of the Board of Education and District administration are trained regarding the requirements of this policy as part of the on-boarding process. The training shall use the training and informational materials provided by the Internal Audit Division, available under “Trainings” at:
https://www.schools.utah.gov/internalaudit/index#Public%20Education%20Hotline
Utah Admin. Rules R277-123-4(8) (August 7, 2025)
Utah Admin. Rules R277-123-7(1), (2) (August 7, 2025)
Whistleblower Protection
Utah Code § 67-21-3 prohibits public employers (such as the District) from taking retaliatory action against their employees for reporting government waste or violations of law in good faith, to the appropriate authorities. A District employee is presumed to have communicated in good faith if the employee has given written notice or otherwise formally communicated the conduct to the Board of Education, a member of the Board of Education, the Superintendent, or to a government official with authority to audit the District.