EPS Complaint Procedure for KRI Certified Kundalini Yoga Teachers, KRI Teacher Trainers and Trainees

  1. Any oral or written complaint received by staff or board members of 3HO, IKYTA, KRI, or any NKYTA regarding the conduct of a KRI Certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher, KRI Teacher Trainer or Trainee must be reported to the Office of Ethics & Professional Standards & Conscious Conflict Resolution (EPS) within five (5) business days of receipt.
  2. EPS will notify the CEO of 3HO and the ED of the KRI Aquarian Training Academy and/or the CEO of KRI that a Complaint has been received within a reasonable amount of time after receiving the Complaint. SSSC will be notified as provided in its notification policy. The parties notified will maintain confidentiality.
    1. In order to maintain the integrity of the Complaint Procedure, the Complainant and the Respondent agree not to engage in a social media or other campaign. EPS will keep the details of the investigation confidential.
  3. Within a reasonable time after receiving the Complaint, EPS will contact the Complainant to provide him or her with the official Complaint Form.
  4. EPS will request the Complainant to complete and sign the Complaint Form and return it to EPS within 72 hours.
    1. If EPS or the Complainant feels the Complainant would be endangered if the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee read the Complaint or if the Complainant does not want EPS to send his or her Complaint, we will not send the letter to the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee. EPS will keep the letter on file and EPS will write to the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee using judicious language.
    2. If an anonymous Complaint is received through the helpline/hotline EPS will determine whether it has sufficient information to initiate a Complaint Procedure. Our goal is to follow the Complaint Procedure as closely as possible with an anonymous Complaint.
    3. Within five (5) business days after receipt of a signed Complaint, EPS shall send the Complaint to the Teacher, Teacher Trainer, or Trainee by email. (EPS will attempt to contact the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee first by telephone so he or she is prepared to receive the Complaint.)
  5. After being notified of the Complaint, the Teacher, Teacher Trainer, or Trainee, or anyone representing the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee, shall have not have contact with the Complainant. Such contact will result in discipline.
    1. Any allegation of retaliation that is determined to be such, will result in disciplinary action.
    2. The Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee shall maintain confidentiality about the identity and circumstances of the Complainant both during and after the Complaint Procedure
    3. The Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee must confirm receipt of the Complaint within 72 hours.
  6. The Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee must send EPS a written, signed Response within ten (10) business days from the date of receipt of the Complaint, unless a longer period of time is approved by EPS. (EPS will provide a Response Form to the Teacher, Teacher Trainer, or Trainee). This Response will be made available to the Complainant.
  7. If the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee does not respond in writing within ten (10) business days, EPS will send a Warning Letter giving him or her an additional ten (10) business days to respond.
  8. If the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee does not respond in writing within ten (10) business days, EPS will send a Notice to Take Action giving him or her an additional five (5) business days to respond.
  9. If the Teacher or Teacher Trainer does not respond in writing within five (5) business days, he or she will be immediately Indefinitely Suspended.
    1. For a Teacher, Indefinite Suspension means that a Kundalini Yoga Teacher cannot teach Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®, cannot represent 3HO, KRI, IKYTA or any NKYTA and cannot host, administrate or teach at any KRI Level One, Two or Three Teacher Training Program.
    2. For a Teacher Trainer, Indefinite Suspension means a Teacher Trainer cannot teach Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®, or represent 3HO, KRI, IKYTA or any NKYTA, cannot host, administrate or teach at any KRI Level One, Two or Three Teacher Training Program and cannot act as a KRI Teacher Trainer or Mentor.
    3. This Suspension will remain in effect until the Teacher or Teacher Trainer is willing to participate in the Complaint Procedure and the Complaint Procedure is complete.
  10. EPS will send the written Response from the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee to the Complainant within five (5) business days of receipt.
    1. However, if EPS determines the Response would harm the Complainant or is otherwise inflammatory, EPS may discuss the Response with the Complainant without sending the Response to the Complainant.
    2. If the Complainant provides additional information to EPS, that information would be sent to the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee for an additional Response as above.
  11. After receiving the Response from the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee in question, EPS may interview persons with information directly related to the Complaint, including the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee and the Complainant and any witnesses identified by either party.
    1. EPS will ask the Complainant what course of action he or she recommends be taken. EPS will clearly inform the Complainant that this recommendation will be conveyed to the EPS Committee to be included in its review, but the Committee will make its Recommendation independent of this recommendation.
  12. All information gathered by EPS will be brought to the EPS Committee to review and make a Recommendation to EPS as to what resolution the Committee deems appropriate to remedy the situation.
    1. The EPS Committee as a whole, may request a face to face interview with the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee.
    2. This process normally will occur within 60 day after all the written materials have been received. It may take more or less time depending on the scope of the investigation. If there is an exceptional situation, all parties will be informed of the timeline.
    3. The final Decision lies with EPS.
  13. EPS will communicate its Decision in writing to the Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee, to the Complainant, to the CEOs of 3HO and KRI, and to any local NKYTA (and SSSC as directed.) 14. The Teacher, Teacher Trainer or Trainee or Complainant may appeal the Decision solely on the basis that the discipline imposed was not fair or in alignment with the core values of 3HO, IKYTA, and KRI.
    1. An appeal must be sent in writing to EPS within thirty (30) days of receiving the Decision.
    2. EPS will promptly submit the Appeal to the Appeals Panel.
    3. The Appeals Panel must issue its decision within thirty (30) days of the date the appeal was filed.
    4. EPS has a pool of Teachers and Teacher Trainers available to serve in Appeals.
  14. In the case of criminal charges or other serious circumstances involving a Student-Teacher interaction where the conduct involved, if true, would constitute a violation in the Code of Ethics & Professional Standards of a Kundalini Yoga Teacher, EPS may automatically Indefinitely Suspend a Teacher or Teacher Trainer pending conclusion of criminal proceedings.
  15. In the case of the Teacher or Teacher Trainer resigning before the completion of the Complaint Procedure, the Teacher or Teacher Trainer is immediately Terminated, and is not eligible to reapply.

In order to maintain the integrity of the Complaint Procedure, EPS does not entertain Counter Complaints against the Complainant, EPS, or any of the Yogi Bhajan Legacy Organizations.

To File a Complaint, please click HERE.

If you have any questions about the Complaint Procedure or Appeal Process, kindly contact Guruka Kaur at eps@epsweb.org

Updated  April 17, 2019

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