Harassment
File: ACAB
HARASSMENT
The Dover-Sherborn Public Schools are committed to maintaining a welcoming school environment that is free of Harassment. As such, Harassment by students, employees, vendors and/or other third parties will not be tolerated in the Dover-Sherborn Public Schools. This policy is in effect while on school grounds, School District property or property within the jurisdiction of the School District. Harassment is prohibited:
on school grounds and property immediately adjacent to school grounds, at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, function, or program whether on or off school grounds, at a school bus stop, on a school bus or other vehicle owned, leased, or used by a school district; or through the use of technology or an electronic device owned, leased, or used by a school district, and
at a location, activity, function, or program that is not school-related or through the use of technology or an electronic device that is not owned, leased, or used by a school district, if the acts create a hostile environment at school for the target or witnesses, infringe on their rights at school, or materially and substantially disrupt the education process or the orderly operation of a school.
An incident that occurs during remote learning, or on a remote learning platform, will generally be treated as occurring in school or at a school-related event. Further, incidents that involve social media, texting, or other online activity may qualify as in-school incidents even if some of the activity originates outside of school during non-school hours. Because of its pervasive presence in students’ lives, social media activity, in particular, may contribute to in-school bullying or Harassment regardless of when or where it originally occurs.
I. Harassment and Retaliation Prohibited
Harassment on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, marital status or disability is prohibited by the District. Retaliation against an employee or student, because they have filed a complaint or assisted or participated in an investigation or proceeding of Harassment prohibited under this policy, is also unlawful and prohibited (regardless of the merits of the underlying complaint).
Students whose behavior is found to be in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including suspension or expulsion pursuant to the District’s disciplinary policy. Employees who have been found to violate this policy will be subject to discipline up to and including, termination of employment, subject to contractual disciplinary obligations.While this policy sets forth our goals of promoting an environment that is free of Harassment, the policy is not designed or intended to limit our authority to discipline or take remedial action for conduct which we deem unacceptable, regardless of whether that conduct constitutes Harassment as defined in this policy.
Harassment for purposes of this policy is conduct of a written, verbal or physical nature that is designed to embarrass distress, agitate, disturb or trouble employees or students when:
A school employee makes submission to such conduct either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment, a student's education, or of a student's participation in school programs or activities;
A school employee uses submission to or rejection of such conduct by an employee or student as the basis for decisions affecting the employee or student; or
A student’s or school employee’s conduct that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with that employee’s employment, that student's performance or creating an intimidating or hostile working or learning environment.
Harassment as described above may include, but is not limited to:
Written, verbal, or physical (including texting, blogging, or other technological methods) Harassment or abuse;
Repeated remarks of a demeaning nature;
Implied or explicit threats concerning one's grades, achievements, or other school matter;
Demeaning jokes, stories, or activities directed at the employee or student;
Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes.
By law, what constitutes Harassment is determined from the perspective of a reasonable person who possesses the characteristic on which the Harassment is based. Individuals should consider how their words and actions might reasonably be viewed by others. Note also that some conduct may also be covered by the District’s Bullying Prevention and Intervention policy which has similar procedures for handling conduct that meets its definition of bullying.
II. Types of Harassment with Specific Definitions
Hate Crime: A criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s Bias (Hatred, hostility, or negative attitudes towards, or prejudice against, any group or individual on account of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation).
Hate Incident: An act, whether consisting of conduct, speech, or expression, to which a Bias motive is evident without regard to whether the act constitutes a crime.
Sexual Harassment: Sexual Harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. Forms of Sexual Harassment include:
Hostile Environment: unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the school's education program or activity. To determine if particular conduct causes a hostile environment, a school will consider the conduct from both a subjective and objective perspective. In making this determination, all relevant circumstances should be considered, including the victim’s age, race, sex, and disability status. A hostile environment may be created even though the employee or student does not suffer tangible harm, such as a drop in grades. For example, a hostile environment could be found where a student, with considerable effort, was able to continue to go to school and achieve good grades despite the difficulties caused by the harassing behavior.
Quid Pro Quo: unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature where acceptance of or submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment or education.
Sexual Violence: sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual abuse, sexual coercion, stalking, dating violence, domestic violence, physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person's will or where a person is incapable of giving consent (e.g., due to the student's age or use of drugs or alcohol, or because an intellectual or other disability prevents the employee or student from having the capacity to give consent).
While it is not possible to list all those additional circumstances that may constitute sexual Harassment, the following are some examples of conduct, which if unwelcome, may constitute sexual Harassment, depending on the totality of the circumstances, including the severity of the conduct and its pervasiveness:
Unwelcome sexual advances-whether they involve physical touching or not;
Sexual epithets, jokes, written or oral references to sexual conduct, gossip regarding one's sex life; comment on an individual's body, comment about an individual's sexual activity, deficiencies, or prowess;
Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, cartoons;
Unwelcome leering, whistling, brushing against the body, sexual gestures, suggestive or insulting comments;
Inquiries into one's sexual experiences; and,
Discussion of one's sexual activities.
The legal definition of Sexual Harassment is broad and in addition to the above examples, other sexually oriented conduct, whether it is intended or not, that is unwelcome and has the effect of creating an environment that is hostile, offensive, intimidating, to male, female, or gender non-conforming students or employees may also constitute Sexual Harassment. The prohibition against Sexual Harassment applies whether the Harassment is between people of the same or different gender.
III. Complaint and Investigation
Anyone who believes they have been harassed in violation of this policy, or who has witnessed or learned about the Harassment of another person in the school environment, should inform the Principal as soon as possible. If the individual does not wish to discuss the issue with the Principal, or if the Principal does not address the problem in an effective manner, the individual should inform the Superintendent. If the principal is the alleged harasser, the report should be made to the Superintendent. If the Superintendent is the alleged harasser, the report should be made to the School Committee.
Because the District takes allegations of Harassment seriously, we will conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation of the Harassment allegations through designation of building based employees, who may include principals or their designees or, in the case of Sexual Harassment, the Title IX Coordinator. The Superintendent will recommend, in consultation with the principals, opportunities to the designated recipients for appropriate training. The District’s investigation will follow the procedures prescribed by state and federal law.
Hate Incidents: The District will act immediately to stop and address the incident in a manner that is consistent with its legal obligations and the District’s policies and procedures including the Harassment Investigation Procedures and the Memoranda of Understanding between the District and the Dover and Sherborn Police Departments (the “MOU”). Measures the District will undertake include the following:
Provide an immediate staff response to the report of a hate motivated incident.
Actual and suspected Hate Crimes and sexual violence are classified as Mandatory Reporting Incidents under the MOU. As such, the designated official will notify law enforcement officers of the incident and request assistance, if necessary. Note that law enforcement may proceed with its own concurrent investigation.
Have law enforcement officers photograph/copy graffiti, property damage, and documentation.
Remove all graffiti (after it has been photographed) before students arrive at school so that the message is not seen by students.
Inform the alleged victim’s and alleged perpetrator’s parents of the steps it is taking to address the incident.
Take immediate steps to prevent the spread of misinformation including the designation of a media spokesperson to quickly disseminate accurate information regarding the incident.
Utilize school or District crisis response teams to support students and provide victims of hate-motivated behavior or crime with support and assistance, including referral to victim support agencies, communicating with their parents/guardians, and assistance with completing school and law enforcement report paperwork).
Work with students who are in formal and informal leadership roles to plan activities which will restore campus harmony: e.g., campuswide “No Put-Down” campaigns.
Assign a district team to protect the victim, perpetrator and their families from the media.
If appropriate, invite the media back to the school at a later date to observe positive campus activities and the effect of remedial measures/programs undertaken by the District.
IV. Final Determination and Closure of Complaint
After the investigation is complete, the principal or designee will make a determination based upon all of the facts and circumstances. The principal or designee will prepare a final written report documenting their findings and notify the parents or guardians of the target and the alleged aggressor as soon as reasonably possible about the results of the investigation.
If, after investigation, Harassment or retaliation is substantiated, the principal or designee will take steps reasonably calculated to prevent recurrence and to ensure that the target is not restricted in participating in school or in benefiting from school activities. If the principal or designee decides that disciplinary action is appropriate, the disciplinary action will be determined on the basis of facts found by the principal or designee, including the nature of the conduct, the age of the student(s) involved, and the need to balance accountability with the teaching of appropriate behavior.
The Complainant may also file a legal complaint with:
• The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination,
1 Ashburton Place, Room 601
Boston, MA 02108.
Phone: 617-994-6000
• Office for Civil Rights (U.S. Department of Education)
5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617-289-0111
• The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
John F. Kennedy Bldg.
475 Government Center
Boston, MA 02203
Please note that the entities above have specific time limits for filing a claim.
LEGAL REF.:
M.G.L. 151B:3A
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
BESE 603 CMR 26:00 (Equal Education Opportunity)
34 CFR 106.44 (a), (a)-(b)
34 CFR 106.45 (a)-(b) (1)
34 CFR 106.45 (b)(2)-(b)(3,4,5,6,7) as revised through June 2020
Massachusetts Anti-Bullying Law (G.L. c. 71, § 37O)
Student AntiDiscrimination Act (G.L. c. 76, § 5)
42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq. (“Title VI”) (covering race, color and national origin)
Title VII, Section 703, Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended
20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (“Title IX”) (covering sex)
42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq. (Americans with Disabilities Act) (covering disability)
G.L. c. 71, § 37O(b)
M.G.L. c. 22C, § 33” 501 Mass. Reg. 4.01, 4.02 (Hate Crime Reporting Act)
Federal Regulation 74676 issued by EEO Commission
M.G.L. 71:37O; 265:43, 43A; 268:13B; 269:14A (bullying, stalking, criminal harassment, witness intimidation, reporting false information)
REFERENCES:
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Model Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
MCAD Model Sexual Harassment Investigation Guidelines
CROSS REFERENCES.:
AC, Nondiscrimination
JICFA, Prohibition of Hazing
JK, Student Discipline Regulations
JICFB, Bullying Prevention
SOURCE: MASC July 2020