What could be considered sexual harrasment? What are the penalties if I am found guilty of sexual harrasment?
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SEXUAL HARASSMENT
The Wake County Board of Education believes that all employees and students are entitled to work and study in school-related environments that are free of sexual harassment. To this end, the board prohibits employees and students from engaging in sexual harassment and advises employees and students that when evidence of sexual harassment is established, disciplinary action may be taken, up to and including, dismissal (for employees) and suspension or expulsion (for students). Independent contractors and volunteers are likewise prohibited from engaging in sexual harassment and are subject to removal from their duties or activities with the school district for violations of this policy.
Examples of sexual harassment include, but are not limited to, deliberate, unwelcome touching; suggestions or demands for sexual involvement accompanied by implied or overt promises of preferential treatment or threats; pressure for sexual activity; continued or repeated offensive sexual flirtations, advances or propositions; continued or repeated verbal remarks about an individual's body; sexually degrading words used toward an individual or to describe an individual; or the display in the work place or school setting of sexually suggestive objects or pictures. A hostile environment exists if the conduct of a sexual nature is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student's ability to participate in or benefit from the educational program or creates a hostile or abusive educational or work environment. Sexual harassment does not include personal compliments welcomed by the recipient or social interactions or relations freely entered into by an employee or prospective employee or appropriate social interactions between students that do not violate the Student Code of Conduct. In the case of consensual relations between students, there may be reason to question the consensual nature of the conduct if one or both of the students are very young or there is a large age disparity between the students.
It is possible for sexual harassment to occur at various levels: between peers or coworkers, between supervisors and subordinates, between employees and students, between students, or imposed by non-employees on employees and/or students. Sexual harassment may be committed by members of the same sex or by members of the opposite sex. Romantic or sexual relationships between school system employees and students are never appropriate, whether they are consensual or otherwise. Such relationships are prohibited and could result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal of the employee.
All complaints of sexual harassment shall be promptly and thoroughly investigated. A student does not have to report an incident of harassment to trigger an investigation if a school official has knowledge of the harassment. Suspected sexual harassment shall be investigated according to the procedures below:
A student who believes that he/she has suffered sexual harassment may report the matter in writing to the school principal. A student may make written complaints to the Assistant Superintendent for Student Services for cases of student to student harassment and to the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources-Employee Relations for complaints of harassment by a school employee. Any teacher or other school employee who receives from a student a report (oral or written) of alleged sexual harassment shall immediately report the same to the school principal, and the principal shall promptly inform the Superintendent of the allegations. Failure by the employee to do so may subject the employee to disciplinary action. If the student's school principal is the alleged offender, such report by the student or by other school employees shall be made to the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources-Employee Relations.
An employee who believes that he/she has suffered sexual harassment may report the matter to the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources-Employee Relations, or the employee's immediate supervisor.
All complaints and investigations of sexual harassment shall be confidential. Information shall be given only to those individuals who need to have access to it in order to investigate appropriately and address the complaint. No employee or student will be subject to negative action in retaliation for reporting alleged sexual harassment in accordance with this policy. Anyone who has brought a complaint under this policy and is not satisfied with the results of the investigation may file a formal grievance with the Title IX coordinator, and the results of this review may be appealed to the board.
Refer to policy: 2320/3035/4035/6415