SPAULDING HIGH SCHOOL UNION DISTRICT
CODES: GBCD-R POLICY MANUAL JFCM-R
First READING: 9/6/95, 7/21/08
Second READING: 10/3/95
ADOPTED: 11/6/95, 8/4/08
________________________________________________________________________
UNLAWFUL HARASSMENT PROCEDURES
The School Board hereby adopts the following procedures to
implement the School District's policy with respect to unlawful harassment.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The
Spaulding High School Union District JFCM/GBCD Policy on Anti-Harassment and
Related Unprofessional Conduct seeks to maintain an atmosphere of mutual
respect and trust which is essential to the work of our school community. All members of the school community should
become familiar with the policy and work together to ensure a positive climate.
The
following procedures are established to help faculty, staff, and students in
the District deal fairly and promptly with concerns and to provide educational
programs that raise awareness and influence behavior.
2.0 ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1 Community Members
Any member
of the community who believes that this policy has been violated may make a
complaint. The well-being of the
District depends on every member being knowledgeable about the policy, being
conscious of his or her own behavior and avoiding intentionally dishonest or
malicious complaints.
2.2 Equity Coordinator
The
Superintendent shall designate one person within the District to be responsible
for receiving formal complaints, recommending resolutions and for maintaining
records on said complaints. This
individual also prepares annual reports on the nature and outcome of complaints
which are the basis of District reports to be used for information, planning,
and assessment of progress toward elimination of harassment of any kind. If the Equity Coordinator is the accused, the
Superintendent and/or Principal shall assign another person to hear the
complaint.
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2.3 MANDATORY REPORTING
2.31 To
principal: Any adult personnel who
witnesses or receives a report, formal or informal, written or oral, of unlawful
harassment at school or during school sponsored activities shall report it to
the principal. If the report involves
the school principal, the reporter shall make the report directly to the School
District Equity Coordinator. In all
cases a copy of the complaint shall be forwarded to the Superintendent.
2.32 Principal's
duty: Upon receipt of a report of
unlawful harassment, the principal shall decide whether to retain and act upon
it at the school site or to forward it directly to the School District Equity
Coordinator. In either case, the
Superintendent shall be notified.
2.32a Retained by
principal: If the principal acts
upon the report at the school site and if the matter is not resolved
informally, in accordance with Section B, he or she shall forward to the School
District Equity Coordinator within 5 days. A report of any action taken shall
be forwarded to Superintendent and Equity Coordinator.
2.32b Forwarded
to School District Equity Coordinator:
If the principal decides to forward the report directly to the School
District Equity Coordinator, he or she shall do so immediately, without
screening or investigating the report.
The principal shall receive a written copy of the complaint from the
complainant. The principal shall forward
to the School District Equity Coordinator:
(i) The
written statement of the complaint within 24 hours; and
(ii) any
available supporting documentation as soon as practical.
3.0 TIMELINESS
Students
or employees should make a complaint within 2 years of knowledge of a possible
violation of the policy.
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4.0 CONFIDENTIALITY
The
Superintendent and his or her designees will handle the matter as
confidentially as possible. When an
individual chooses informal resolution, a contact person will inform the Equity
Coordinator of the concern, the resolution processes used and the outcome. When a formal complaint is filed, the alleged
violator, the Superintendent, and the Equity Coordinator are informed. Others who may have a legitimate need to know
(such as a Department Head) will be informed on a case-by-case basis.
5.0 STEPS IN THE
PROCESS
5.1 A person
with a concern or possible complaint meets with either, the principal or Equity
Coordinator as the first contact people.
They are trained to advise and assist individuals to clarify concerns
and to make decisions about following informal or formal complaint procedures,
when necessary. These contact people may
participate in the informal resolution processes. They may also refer individuals to other appropriate
contact people or the Superintendent of Schools.
5.2 Either with
a contact person or alone, an individual may decide to follow formal or
informal complaint procedures. An
individual may proceed immediately with a formal complaint. If the informal process is followed, a formal
complaint may be made later, regardless of the outcome of the informal
complaint process. An individual may
also elect to file a complaint initially with the EEOC, Vermont's Attorney
General, or Vermont's Human Rights Commission.
5.3 There are
instances when an individual may choose not to make either a formal or informal
complaint, but the institution may choose to follow up on a concern with either
an informal process or a formal complaint.
6.0 INFORMAL
COMPLAINT
6.1 The
individual meets with either the Principal or Equity Coordinator as the first
contact person to describe the behavior that is offensive.
6.2 The
individual and the contact person will then consider a number of options that
might resolve the situation, including but not limited to:
6.21 the
preparation of a letter to the alleged violator, which describes the offensive
behavior and requests that it cease;
6.22 plan a
meeting during which the individuals can discuss the offensive behavior;
6.23 set up a
meeting between the contact person and the alleged violator to talk about the
offensive behavior;
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6.24 prepare the
individual to meet with the alleged violator regarding the offensive behavior;
6.25 other options
that will end the offensive behavior or resolve the complainant's concern about
the offensive behavior.
6.3 The contact
person notifies the Superintendent and Equity Coordinator of the nature of the
complaint, resolution processes used and outcomes.
6.4 If the
resolution is not satisfactory to the complainant, she or he may choose to file
a formal complaint.
7.0 FORMAL
COMPLAINT
7.1 The
complainant meets with one of the persons designated to receive formal
complaints (usually the Principal or Equity Coordinator).
7.2 The
complainant is advised that the alleged violator will receive a copy of the
written complaint.
7.3 The
complainant files a written statement describing the alleged offensive
behavior. This statement must be signed
and dated.
7.4 A copy of
the written complaint is sent to the alleged violator with a letter informing
the alleged violator that an investigation has begun and directs the alleged
violator not to engage in any retaliatory behavior against the
complainant. A copy of policy JFCM is
also included. A copy of this letter is
sent to the complainant.
7.5 The letter
shall either be hand-delivered or sent to the individual's mailing address
marked "confidential."
7.6 Copies of
the letter and complaint are sent to the Superintendent of Schools and the
appropriate principal.
7.7 The
institution will respond promptly to complaints, generally sending the above
letter within ten working days. If the
institution does not do so, the complainant may ask the Superintendent to
respond and conduct the investigation.
8.0 INVESTIGATION
UNDER FORMAL COMPLAINT PROCESS
8.1 The
Principal and/or the Equity Coordinator shall conduct a formal investigation
and from this point forward be considered the investigators. The complainant and/or the alleged violator
may object to the selection of the investigators if either believes there is
demonstrable or perceived bias on the part of the investigator. Any such questions must be raised upon
receipt of notice of the investigation.
The Superintendent has final authority in the appointment of
investigators.
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8.2 The
investigation will be conducted as promptly as possible without compromising
thoroughness. A STATEMENT OF FINDINGS
Report shall be submitted to the Superintendent within 60 working days of
the filing of the formal complaint. This
deadline may be extended upon written consent of both parties. If the report is not filed on time, no
discipline may be imposed.
8.3 The investigators
will meet separately with the complainant and the alleged violator. The investigators will request information
about the alleged incident(s) and will seek information from individuals who
might know about the incident(s) or other information helpful to the
investigation.
8.4 If in the
course of the investigation other allegations surface against the individual
being investigated which may by themselves constitute harassment or related
unprofessional conduct, the investigators shall inform the alleged violator of
these allegations, in writing, and the individual will be given an opportunity
to respond to these allegations before the investigators submit their report
and statement of findings.
8.5 Notes shall
be taken by the investigators on meetings they have with all persons. Any person may elect to have counsel or an
advisor present at any investigation meetings.
8.6 At the
conclusion of the investigation, the investigators will send a copy of their
findings and investigative report to the superintendent. If the report and findings are accepted, a
copy of the report and findings will be sent to the complainant, the alleged
violator and the Equity Coordinator for confidential filing purposes.
8.7 If there is
no finding of sexual harassment or related unprofessional conduct and if the
Superintendent concurs with this finding, the alleged violator will receive a
letter informing her or him of this finding.
No materials pertaining to the complaint will be placed in the personnel
of student file in such an instance. The
Equity Coordinator will keep a confidential record of the formal complaint for
reporting purposes only.
8.8 If the
Superintendent finds the report to be incomplete or does not concur with the
findings, she or he may send the report back for further investigation, may
appoint new investigators, or may overturn the findings.
8.9 If there is
a finding of harassment or related unprofessional conduct and the
Superintendent concurs with the findings, she or he will send the violator a
letter outlining the discipline being contemplated, which will be consistent
with all applicable contract/collective bargaining agreements. If the violator
is a student, the appropriate principal will initiate procedures related to
policy violation by the students.
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8.10 The
complainant and/or the alleged violator have the right to request an informal
meeting with the Superintendent to discuss the findings.
8.11 The Superintendent will inform the violator
by letter of the discipline.
9.0 APPEAL
A person
determined to have violated the policy on unlawful harassment and subjected to
action under it may appeal the determination and/or the action taken as
follows:
9.1 Student: If the person filing the appeal is a
student, the appeal shall proceed in accordance with school district policy
governing discipline of students and with law.
9.2 Staff:
9.21 If the person
filing the appeal is an adult school personnel who has applicable appeal rights
under the grievance procedure in a collective bargaining agreement, the appeal
shall proceed in accordance with the person's rights in that agreement.
9.22 If the person
filing the appeal is a adult school personnel who does not have applicable
appeal rights under the grievance procedure in a collective bargaining
agreement, the appeal shall proceed in accordance with school district policy
governing personnel discipline and with law.
10.0 NOTICE
The
Superintendent shall provide notice of the policy on unlawful harassment and
these procedures to all school personnel and to custodial parents or guardians
of students. The notice shall:
10.1 Be in age-appropriate language;
10.2 Include
examples of behaviors which, if sufficiently severe, pervasive or persistent to
interfere with a person's ability to participate in or benefit from school
programs, would be unlawful harassment; and
10.3 Provide the
following information about additional methods of pursuing claims of unlawful
harassment:
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A person
may make a complaint of harassment to the Vermont Human Rights Commission or
the federal Office of Civil Rights at the following places:
Vermont
Human Rights Commission
133 State Street
Montpelier, VT
05633-0001
(802)
828-2480
Director,
Compliance Division Area II
Office
for Civil Rights
U.S.
Department of Education, Region 1
John
W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse, Room 222
Post
Office Square
Boston, MA
02109
(617)
223-9667
In
addition, an individual may seek other remedies through private legal action
and, in some circumstances, through criminal prosecution.
11.0 EDUCATION
In
developing an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect, the District will provide
educational programs that work toward the elimination of offensive
behavior. In these programs, the
Superintendent and Principal will:
11.1 distribute
periodically to all employees and students copies of Policy JFCM and procedures
for implementation of the policy;
11.2 distribute
periodically materials that define harassment and explain the rights and
responsibilities of individuals under the policy;
11.3 provide
incoming students, faculty and staff with information and learning experiences
to heighten awareness of the issues and of the District's expectations;
11.4 establish and
train a group of people who can be initial contacts and provide informal
support for people who believe the policy has been violated, assist and advise
on the decisions to be made by those who believe the policy has been violated,
participate as appropriate in informal resolution processes and educate others
about the issues;
11.5 train
potential investigators who will be part of the response to formal complaints.
The
District will continue to support, monitor and revise the educational programs
as they work toward the goals of eliminating harassment and related
unprofessional conduct and enhancing mutual trust and respect.