The Board of Education has adopted a whistleblower-protection policy designed to prevent retaliation against employees who speak out in good faith about suspected misconduct within the school district. The city’s school board unanimously approved that new policy last Monday at its latest regul ar meeting at King/Robinson School. The vote took place nearly two months after the board’s Governance Committee briefly considered the policy in July before passing it along to the full board for review. Previously, the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) district’s whistleblower policy included language specific only to its Head Start program. Last Monday, Board of Education Secretary Ed Joyner said that staff should be given a work environment that sets a standard for “responsible truth-telling” without backlash. He also described the policy as one of the “best things we’ve ever done.” Fellow board member Daniel Juarez said that, for many staffers, existing union contracts offer similar protections to the newly adopted policy. Nevertheless, he said he also supports the district-wide policy. Abie Benitez, the chair of the board’s Governance Committee, said the policy creates another layer of transparency, dignity, and intention for the district. The now adopted-policy 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.” Read the full policy below. Whistleblower Protection PolicyDownload The post NHPS Whistleblower Policy Adopted appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less