Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment, Anti-Bullying Policy
The Board believes that all employees and students should be free of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and bullying as part of a safe, orderly, caring and inviting working and learning environment. The Board commits itself to nondiscrimination in all its educational and employment activities. The board expressly prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment or bullying, including on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, religion, age or disability.
The Board also prohibits retaliation against an employee or student who has exercised any rights made available through state or federal law, including prohibiting retaliation for reporting violations of this policy.
Any violation of this policy is considered a serious violation and appropriate action will be taken in response to a violation.
All persons, agencies, vendors, contractors and other persons and organizations doing business with or performing services for the school district must comply with all applicable federal and state laws, including the prohibition against harassment and bullying of students or harassment of employees.
For the purpose of this policy, the following definitions will apply:
Discrimination means any act that unreasonably and unfavorably differentiates treatment of others based solely on their membership in a socially distinct group or category, such as race, ethnicity, sex, religion, age, or disability. Discrimination may be intentional or unintentional.
Harassment can be a type of unlawful discrimination. Harassment is unwanted, unwelcome and uninvited behavior that demeans, threatens or offends the victim and results in a hostile environment for the victim. The hostile environment can be created through pervasive or persistent misbehavior or a single incident, if sufficiently severe. Harassing behavior may include but is not limited to epithets, derogatory comments or slurs and lewd propositions, assault, impeding or blocking movement, offensive touching or any physical interference with normal work or movement, and visual insults, such as derogatory posters or cartoons.
It is possible for harassment to occur at various levels; between fellow students or co-workers, between supervisors and subordinates, between employees and students, or imposed by non-employees, including visitors on employees and/or students.
Bullying is a form of harassment. Bullying means the repeated intimidation of others by the real or threatened infliction of physical, verbal, written, electronically transmitted or emotional abuse through attacks on the property of another. Bullying may include, but is not limited to, verbal taunts, name-calling and putdowns, extortion of money or possessions, implied or stated threats, and exclusion from peer groups.
C . Discrimination, Harassment or Bullying Complaint Procedures
Students and parents are encouraged to submit any complaints of discrimination, harassment or bullying through the appropriate administrator or through the Clay County Schools Grievance Procedure.
Employees are encouraged to submit any complaints of discrimination or harassment through the Clay County Schools Grievance Procedure.
D. Non-Retaliation
The Board prohibits reprisal or retaliation against any person who reports an act of discrimination, harassment, or bullying. The consequence and appropriate remedial action for a person who engages in reprisal or retaliation shall be determined by the principal, after consideration of the nature and circumstances of the act, in accordance with applicable federal, state or local laws, policies and regulations.
The Superintendent shall designate an employee to participate in training by the Department of Public Instruction pertaining to anti-discrimination, anti-harassment and anti-bullying. The designee will provide training in the school district regarding this policy and state requirements.
Information regarding this policy will be provided to students and employees. This training will include identifying groups that may be the target of discrimination, harassment or bullying; and will identify places at which such behavior may occur.
Each school shall provide in teacher and student handbooks notice to the respective parents and students of the procedures for reporting and investigating complaints of discrimination, harassment and bullying. The school district will investigate complaints of discrimination, harassment and bullying will take reasonable steps to eliminate the discrimination, harassment or bullying.
The superintendent or designee will publish the names, addresses and phone numbers of the "Title IX Coordinator" (for sex discrimination), "Section 504 Coordinator" (for discrimination on the basis of disability), and the "ADA Coordinator" (also for discrimination on the basis of disability) in a manner intended to ensure that employees, applicants, students, parents and other individuals who participate in the school district's program are aware of the coordinators. The purpose of the coordinators position is to provide additional protection of nondiscrimination rights. The coordinator either must (1) implement a resolution to a discrimination, harassment or bullying complaint, to the extent a resolution can be reached and the coordinator has the authority to implement corrective action, or (2) notify the superintendent that intervention by other school officials is required to resolve the situation.
The superintendent or designee shall maintain confidential records of complaints or reports of discrimination which identify the names of any individuals accused of discrimination and the resolution of such reports or complaints. The superintendent also shall maintain records of training or other steps taken by the district to help provide an environment free of discrimination, harassment or bullying.
The Superintendent shall report to the State Board of Education all verified cases of discrimination, harassment or bullying. The report will be made through the Discipline Data Collection Report or through other means required by the State Board of Education.
The superintendent is required to evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to correct or prevent discrimination, harassment or bullying.