Harassment of a student(s) by other students or any member of the the staff is contrary to the Board of Education’s commitment to provide a physically and psychologically safe environment in which to learn.

 Conduct constituting harassment may take different forms, including but not limited to the following:

Sexual Harassment, Gender, ethnic, religious, disability, height, weight harassment

 Any student who believes that he/she is a victim of any of the above actions or has observed such actions taken by another student, staff member, or other person associated with the district should take promptly the following steps: 

1. If the alleged harasser is a student, staff member, or other person associated with the district, other than the student's principal, the affected student should, as soon as possible after the incident, contact one of the principals.
2.  If the alleged harasser is the student's principal, the affected student should, as soon as possible after the incident, contact the Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

The student may make contact either by a written report or by telephone or personal visit. During this contact, the reporting student should provide the name of the person(s) whom he/she believes to be responsible for the harassment and the nature of the harassing incident.

 Each report received by the principal or the Director of Curriculum and Instruction as provided above, shall be investigated in a timely and confidential manner. While a charge is under investigation, no information is to be released to anyone who is not involved with the investigation, except as may be required by law or is in the context of a legal or administrative proceeding. No one involved is to discuss the subject outside of the investigation. 

The purpose of this provision is to:

•       Protect the confidentiality of the student who files a complaint        

•       Encourage the reporting of any incidents of sexual or other forms of harassment          

•       Protect the reputation of any party wrongfully charged with harassment

      Investigation of a complaint will normally include conferring with the parties involved (may include parents), and any named or apparent witnesses. All students and others involved are to be protected from coercion, intimidation, retaliation or discrimination for filing a complaint or assisting in an investigation.

 If the investigation reveals that the complaint is valid, then prompt appropriate remedial and/or disciplinary action will be taken immediately to prevent the continuance of the harassment or its recurrence. Any form of sexual harassment is considered a form of child abuse and the abuser must be reported immediately in accordance with AG 8462. 

 The district recognizes that determining whether a particular action or incident is harassment or, conversely, is reflective of an action without a discriminatory or intimidating intent or effect must be based on all of the facts in the matter. Given the nature of harassing behavior, the District recognizes that false accusations can have serious effects on innocent individuals. Therefore, all students are expected to act responsibly, honestly and with the utmost candor whenever they present harassment allegation or charges against fellow students, a staff member or others associated with the District. 

Last Updated August 18, 2003

Email Us | Home | Clio Area Schools