Board Policy
Sexual Harassment

BP 4119.11 
Personnel

The Governing Board prohibits sexual harassment of district employees and job applicants.  The Board also prohibits retaliatory behavior or action against district employees or other persons who complain, testify or otherwise participate in the complaint process established pursuant to this policy and administrative regulation.

(cf. 0410 - Nondiscrimination in District Programs and Activities)
(cf. 4030 - Nondiscrimination in Employment)

The Superintendent or designee shall take all actions necessary to ensure the prevention, investigation, and correction of sexual harassment, including but not limited to:

1.	Providing training to employees in accordance with law and administrative regulation

2.	Publicizing and disseminating the district's sexual harassment policy to staff

(cf. 4112.9/4212.9/4312.9 - Employee Notifications)

3.	Ensuring prompt, thorough, and fair investigation of complaints

4.	Taking timely and appropriate corrective/remedial action(s), which may require interim separation of the complainant and the alleged harasser and subsequent monitoring of developments

All complaints and allegations of sexual harassment shall be kept confidential to the extent necessary to carry out the investigation or to take other subsequent necessary actions.  (5 CCR 4964)

Any district employee or job applicant who feels that he/she has been sexually harassed or who has knowledge of any incident of sexual harassment by or against another employee, a job applicant or a student, shall immediately report the incident to his/her supervisor, the principal, district administrator or Superintendent.

A supervisor, principal or other district administrator who receives a harassment complaint shall promptly notify the Superintendent or designee.

Complaints of sexual harassment shall be filed in accordance with AR 4031 - Complaints Concerning Discrimination in Employment. An employee may bypass his/her supervisor in filing a complaint where the supervisor is the subject of the complaint.

(cf. 4031 - Complaints Concerning Discrimination in Employment)

Any district employee who engages or participates in sexual harassment or who aids, abets, incites, compels, or coerces another to commit sexual harassment against a district employee, job applicant, or student is in violation of this policy and is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

(cf. 4117.4 - Dismissal)
(cf. 4118 - Suspension/Disciplinary Action)
(cf. 4218 - Dismissal/Suspension/Disciplinary Action)

Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
200-262.4  Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex
GOVERNMENT CODE
12900-12996  Fair Employment and Housing Act, especially:
12940  Prohibited discrimination
12950.1 Sexual harassment training
LABOR CODE
1101  Political activities of employees
1102.1  Discrimination:  sexual orientation
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 2
7287.8 Retaliation
7288.0 Sexual harassment training and education
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
4900-4965  Nondiscrimination in elementary and secondary education programs receiving state financial assistance
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 42
2000d-2000d-7  Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964
2000e-2000e-17  Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended
2000h-2-2000h-6  Title IX, 1972 Education Act Amendments
CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, TITLE 34
106.9  Dissemination of policy
COURT DECISIONS
Department of Health Services v. Superior Court of California, (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1026
Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, (1998) 118 S.Ct. 2275
Burlington Industries v. Ellreth, (1998) 118 S.Ct. 2257
Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, (1998) 118 S.Ct. 1989
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Serv. Inc., (1998) 118 S.Ct. 998
Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson et al., (1986) 447 U.S. 57

Management Resources:
OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATTORNEYS GENERAL
Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crime, January, 1999
WEB SITES
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing:  http://www.dfeh.ca.gov
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:  http://www.eeoc.gov
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights:  http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html

Policy	PINER-OLIVET UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted:  September 21, 2005	Santa Rosa, California

Administrative Regulation
Sexual Harassment

AR 4119.11 
Personnel

Definitions

Prohibited sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, unwanted requests for sexual favors, or other unwanted verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature made against another person of the same or opposite sex in the work or educational setting when:  (Education Code 212.5; 5 CCR 4916)

1.	Submission to the conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of the individual's employment.

2.	Submission to or rejection of such conduct by the individual is used as the basis for an employment decision affecting him/her.

3.	The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual's work or has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.  The conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent, pervasive, or objectively offensive so as to create a hostile or abusive working environment or to limit the individual's ability to participate in or benefit from an education program or activity.

4.	Submission to or rejection of the conduct by the other individual is used as the basis for any decision affecting him/her regarding benefits, services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the district.

Other examples of actions that might constitute sexual harassment, whether committed by a supervisor, a co-worker, or a non-employee, in the work or educational setting, include, but are not limited to:

1.	Unwelcome verbal conduct such as sexual flirtations or propositions; graphic comments about an individual's body; overly personal conversations or pressure for sexual activity; sexual jokes or stories; unwelcome sexual slurs, epithets, threats, innuendoes, derogatory comments, sexually degrading descriptions, or the spreading of sexual rumors

2.	Unwelcome visual conduct such as drawings, pictures, graffiti, or gestures; sexually explicit emails; displaying sexually suggestive objects

3.	Unwelcome physical conduct such as massaging, grabbing, fondling, stroking, or brushing the body; touching an individual's body or clothes in a sexual way; cornering, blocking, leaning over, or impeding normal movements

Prohibited sexual harassment may also include any act of retaliation against an individual who reports a violation of the district's sexual harassment policy or who participates in the investigation of a sexual harassment complaint.

Training

Every two years, the Superintendent or designee shall ensure that supervisory employees receive at least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment. All newly hired or promoted supervisory employees shall receive training within six months of their assumption of the supervisory position.  (Government Code 12950.1)

The district's training and education program for supervisory employees shall include information and practical guidance regarding the federal and state laws on the prohibition against and the prevention and correction of sexual harassment, and the remedies available to the victims of sexual harassment in employment. The training shall also include all of the content specified in 2 CCR 7288.0 and practical examples aimed at instructing supervisors in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.  (Government Code 12950.1; 2 CCR 7288.0)

In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall ensure that all employees receive periodic training regarding the district's sexual harassment policy, particularly the procedures for filing complaints and employees' duty to use the district's complaint procedures.

Notifications

A copy of the Board policy and this administrative regulation shall:  (Education Code 231.5)

1.	Be displayed in a prominent location in the main administrative building, district office, or other area of the school where notices of district rules, regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct are posted

2.	Be provided to each faculty member, all members of the administrative staff, and all members of the support staff at the beginning of the first quarter or semester of the school year or whenever a new employee is hired

(cf. 4112.9/4212.9/4312.9 - Employee Notifications)

3.	Appear in any school or district publication that sets forth the school's or district's comprehensive rules, regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct

All employees shall receive either a copy of information sheets prepared by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) or a copy of district information sheets that contain, at a minimum, components on:  (Government Code 12950)

1.	The illegality of sexual harassment

2.	The definition of sexual harassment under applicable state and federal law

3.	A description of sexual harassment, with examples

4.	The district's complaint process available to the employee

(cf. 4031 - Complaints Concerning Discrimination in Employment)

5.	The legal remedies and complaint process available through DFEH and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

6.	Directions on how to contact DFEH and the EEOC

7.	The protection against retaliation provided by 2 CCR 7287.8 for opposing harassment prohibited by law or for filing a complaint with or otherwise participating in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing conducted by DFEH and the EEOC

In addition, the district shall post, in a prominent and accessible location, DFEH's poster on discrimination in employment and the illegality of sexual harassment.  (Government Code 12950)

Regulation	PINER-OLIVET UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
approved:  October 1, 2008	Santa Rosa, California