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The Board of
Education will not tolerate sexual harassment of pupils by school employees,
other pupils, or third parties. Sexual harassment of pupils is a form of
prohibited sex discrimination. School district staff will investigate and
resolve allegations of sexual harassment of pupils engaged in by school
employees, other pupils (peers), or third parties.
The Board shall
establish a grievance procedure through which school district staff and/or
pupils can report alleged sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment
which may include quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment.
Definitions:
1. Quid
pro quo harassment occurs when a school employee explicitly or implicitly
conditions a pupil’s participation in an educational program or activity or
bases an educational decision on the pupil’s submission to unwelcomed sexual
advances, requests for sexual favors, or other favors, or other verbal,
nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Quid Pro Quo Harassment is
equally unlawful whether the pupil resists and suffers the threatened harm or
submits and thus avoids the threatened harm.
2. Hostile
environment sexual harassment is sexually harassing conduct (which can include
unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other favors, or
other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature) by an
employee, by another pupil, or by a third party that is sufficiently severe,
persistent, or pervasive to limit a pupil’s ability to participate in or
benefit from an educational program or activity, or to create a hostile or
abusive educational environment.
This Policy
protects any “person” from sex discrimination; accordingly both male and female
pupils are protected from sexual harassment engaged in by school district
employees, other pupils, or third parties. Sexual harassment, regardless
of the gender of the harasser, even if the harasser and the pupil being
harassed are members of the same gender is prohibited. Harassing conduct
of a sexual nature directed toward any pupil, regardless of the pupil’s sexual
orientation, may create a sexually hostile environment and therefore constitute
sexual harassment.
Nonsexual
touching or other nonsexual conduct does not constitute sexual harassment.
The regulation
and grievance procedure shall provide a mechanism for discovering sexual
harassment as early as possible and for effectively correcting problems.
The Chief
School Administrator, or designee, will take steps to avoid any further sexual
harassment and to prevent any retaliation against the pupil who made the
complaint, was the subject of the harassment, or against those who provided the
information or were witnesses. The school district staff can learn of
sexual harassment through notice and any other means such as from a witness to
an incident, an anonymous letter or telephone call.
This policy and
regulation on sexual harassment of pupils shall be published and distributed to
pupils and employees to ensure all pupils and employees understand the nature
of sexual harassment and that the Board will not tolerate it. The Board
shall provide training for all staff and age-appropriate classroom information
for pupils to ensure the staff and the pupils understand what type of conduct
can cause sexual harassment and that the staff know the school district policy
and regulation on how to respond.
In cases of
alleged harassment, the protections of the First Amendment must be considered
if issues of speech or expression are involved. Free speech rights apply
in the classroom and in all other programs in the public school. The
Chief School Administrator, or designee, will formulate, interpret, and apply
the policy so as to protect free speech rights of staff, pupils and third parties.
In addition, if
the Board accepts federal funds, the Board shall be bound by Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972 prohibiting sexual harassment of pupils.
Title IX applies to all public school districts that receive federal funds and
protects pupils in connection with all the academic, educational,
extra-curricular, athletic, and other programs of the school district, whether
they take place in the school facilities, on the school bus, at a class or
training program sponsored by the school in a school building or at another
location.
United States
Department of Education - Office of Civil Rights Sexual Harassment Guidance:
Harassment of Pupils by School Employees, Other Pupils, or Third Parties
(1997)
Adopted:
12 March 2007
Revised:
9 February 2009