WCPSS: Board Policy - Sexual Harassment (4035)

2320 3035 4035 6415		Sexual Harassment	2320 3035 4035 6415

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.

A.	Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when: 1. Submission to the conduct is made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of an individual’s employment, academic progress, or completion of a school-related activity; or 2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such an individual, or, in the case of a student, submission to or rejection of such conduct is used in evaluating the individual’s performance within a course of study or other school-related activity; or 3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an employee’s work performance or a student’s educational performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.
B.	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. 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.
C.	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 advances toward students by employees or romantic or sexual relationships between school system employees and students are never appropriate, whether they are consensual or otherwise outside the definition of sexual harassment. Such relationships are prohibited. Employees engaging in inappropriate relationships with students will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
D.	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 following procedures: 1. 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. 2. A student who believes that he/she has suffered sexual harassment by another student may report the matter in writing to the school principal. Any teacher or other school employee who receives from a student a report (oral or written) of alleged sexual harassment by another student shall immediately report the same to the school principal. Failure by the employee to do so may subject the employee to disciplinary action. Upon receipt of a report of sexual harassment by a student, the school principal shall notify the Title IX Coordinator and any other appropriate person as required by law and Board Policy 3033/2333. The school principal shall also investigate the complaint and, if the complaint proves to be supported by evidence, take appropriate action regarding any necessary disciplinary and preventative measures. A student who believes that he/she has suffered sexual harassment by a school employee may report the matter in writing to the school principal. Any teacher or other school employee who receives from a student a report (oral or written) of alleged sexual harassment by a school employee shall immediately report the same to the school principal. If the student’s school principal is the alleged offender, such report by the student or other school employees shall be made to the assistant superintendent of human resources – employee relations. If the school principal receives this report of sexual harassment by a school employee, the principal shall notify the assistant superintendent of human resources - employee relations and any other appropriate person as required by law and Board Policy 3033/2333. The assistant superintendent of human resources - employee relations shall investigate the complaint. If the complaint proves to be supported by evidence discovered in the investigation, the assistant superintendent of human resources - employee relations shall take appropriate action regarding any necessary discipline of the offending employee, up to and including dismissal, and shall work with the school principal to develop preventative measures to preclude future sexual harassment. The school principal shall implement these preventative measures. A student who brought a complaint of sexual harassment and who is not satisfied with the preventative measures implemented by the school principal may appeal in writing to the Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX Coordinator is the assistant superintendent for student services or designee and may be reached at (919) 850-1600. Correspondence to the Title IX Coordinator should be sent to 3600 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609-7329. A complaining student’s appeal shall be limited solely to the issue of the adequacy of the preventative measures. Upon receipt of a written appeal, the Title IX Coordinator shall review all materials forwarded to him/her by the school principal and student and may obtain additional information as needed. The Title IX Coordinator shall determine whether to uphold, reverse, or modify the preventative measures recommended by the school principal. The Title IX Coordinator shall notify the complaining student of this decision to the extent consistent with confidentiality laws. An employee who believes that he/she has suffered sexual harassment may report the matter in writing to the assistant superintendent of human resources – employee relations. However, any school employee who occupies an organizationally superior position relative to an employee who receives from such employee a report, whether oral or written, of alleged sexual harassment shall promptly report the same to the assistant superintendent of human resources - employee relations. Failure by such employee to do so may subject the employee to disciplinary action. If the assistant is the alleged offender, such report shall be made to the superintendent. Upon receipt of a report of sexual harassment, the superintendent or assistant superintendent of human resources - employee relations shall investigate the complaint and take appropriate action regarding discipline and prevention. 3. Any student who has brought a complaint under this policy and is not satisfied with the preventative measures approved by the Title IX Coordinator and implemented by the school principal as a result of their investigations may file a written appeal to the Board of Education. Any employee who has brought a complaint under this policy and is not satisfied with the preventative actions taken by the superintendent or assistant superintendent of human resources – employee relations may file a written appeal to the Board of Education. The Board’s consideration of these appeals will take place in closed session and will be limited to the written record. The Board may uphold, reverse, or modify the preventative action under review. 4. In any case involving alleged sexual harassment by the superintendent, reports shall be made to any member of the board. 5. Claims of sexual harassment shall be promptly and thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action shall be taken. The actions taken should be reasonably calculated to end any harassment, eliminate a hostile environment if one has been created, and prevent harassment from occurring again. Violations shall be deemed to be serious disciplinary infractions. Disciplinary actions shall take into account the circumstances including the nature, frequency and severity of the harassment, and in the case of student-on-student harassment, the ages of the students involved. 6. No employee or student will be subject to negative action in retaliation for reporting alleged sexual harassment in accordance with this policy. Such retaliation is against the law and is prohibited by this policy. 7. The superintendent may establish such guidelines and additional procedures as he/she deems necessary for the purpose of implementation of this policy.
E.	It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent and his/her designees to inform school employees and students regarding this policy.