ACAB-R

ACAB-R: SEXUAL HARASSMENT REPORTING PROCEDURE

A person who wishes to report an incident has two avenues in which they can proceed with their complaint. The formal and informal procedures are both described below.

INFORMAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

An informal complaint may be filed by a student, employee, administrator and/or applicant who believes that his/her rights as outlined in the sexual harassment policy have been violated. It is suggested that a complaint of harassment be made within 30 days of the alleged harassing behavior. Please note that a complaint can be filed up to 180 days from the time of the alleged incident.

The complainant should report their concerns to a reporting officer who could be a building Principal, guidance counselor, Title IX coordinator or Superintendent. These options have been made available to ensure that the complainant can report to a person of either gender. At that point, the reporting officer will fill out the complaint form that is included in this policy. An investigation will be carried out by the principal or Title IX coordinator to see if the complaint is founded. At this point, the Principal will attempt to end the harassing behavior if the complaint is founded. At this point, it will be decided if any disciplinary action will be taken against the alleged harasser. If the harassing behavior continues from this point, the procedure will continue to the formal procedure and may result in further disciplinary action. The Principal shall inform the person who is being accused before the start of any investigation, in the case that the alleged harasser is a student the parents will be informed.

FORMAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

A. A formal complaint may be filed by a student, employee, administrator and/or applicant who believes that his/her rights as outlined in the sexual harassment policy have been violated. It is suggested that a complaint be filed within 30 days of the alleged harassing behavior. Please note that a complaint can be filed within 180 days from the time of the alleged incident.

The complainant should report their concerns to a reporting officer who could be a principal, guidance counselor, Title IX coordinator or the superintendent. These options have been made available to ensure that the complainant can report to a person of either gender. The complainant should fill out the attached form giving as full a description of the incident as possible. If the complainant wishes to make the referral in a verbal manner, the reporting officer will fill out the complaint form.

B. The building principal or Title IX coordinator will receive all information and act as the investigating officer within the building and an investigation shall be conducted by that person, unless the superintendent is the investigating officer and he/she will conduct the investigation. If the superintendent is the accused harasser the Title IX coordinator shall be the investigating officer. Prior to the start of the investigation, the investigating officer will notify the person who is being accused. If the person being accused is a student, the parents of the student will be notified as well. Any member of the school community who is being investigated is entitled to representation by parents, union representatives, or legal counsel during any part of the investigation.

C. The investigation will be conducted within a fifteen school day period of the filing of the complaint. Such an investigation may include, but may not be limited to:

1. Interviews with the complainant. 2. Interviews with the alleged harasser. 3. Interviews with other employees or students as needed. 4. A review of pertinent records.

D. Within the fifteen school day period, the investigating officer will determine whether the complaint is founded.

1. If the complaint is founded, the Principal or Superintendent will confront the accused harasser with the findings of the investigation and will inform the individual of what penalties will be enforced. The Principal or Superintendent will also inform the complainant of the findings. All records of the investigation will be kept on file within the school and are the property of the Georgetown Public Schools. The complainant and the alleged harasser, or their agents, are entitled to a review records of the investigation. If one of the parties wishes to review these records, they need to contact the Title IX coordinator, the records will be made available within 2 school days of the time of the request. In cases that involve abuse or criminal action the Georgetown Police Department will be contacted in case further action is taken by either any of the parties involved.

2. If the complaint is not founded, the investigating officer will report his findings to the complainant and will review the investigation. If the complainant or the accused harasser is not satisfied with the findings of the investigating officer, an appeal for further investigation can be made with the Superintendent. If the Superintendent is the investigating officer the appeal would go to the chairperson of the School Committee. This appeal should take place within fifteen (15) days of the finalization of the investigating officers report. If the complaint is founded and the accused harasser wishes to appeal the finding, they have (15) days in which to do this.

E. The investigating officer shall keep the Superintendent as well as the Title IX coordinator informed throughout investigations and finalize his/her report with written description of the investigation, its conclusions and the action taken if any.

F. All complaints and subsequent proceedings should, to the greatest extent possible, be held in confidence by all persons directly or indirectly involved with them.

PENALTIES FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Any student found to be in violation of the student code of conduct in regards to sexual harassment will be dealt with in accordance with the student code of conduct. The code of conduct indicates the following penalties:

For middle/high school students the penalties may include any one of the following or any combination of the following depending on the severity of the infraction:

A. Consultation with the administration B. Suspension from school/ parent conference required before returning C. Referral to outside agencies D. Expulsion

For students at the elementary school level the penalties may include any of the following are any combination of the following:

A. Consultation with the administration/to include a discipline B. After school detentions C. In school suspension/ with parent conference required D. Out of school suspension/ with parent conference required

Any staff person found to be in violation of the sexual harassment policy shall be dealt with according to district policy which could include any of the following or any combination of the following:

A. Consultation with the administration B. Letter of written warning put into their personnel file C. Referral to the superintendent for further action up to and including termination and or referral for prosecution consistent with state and federal laws.

Any retaliation by students or staff to the complainant or those who were involved with the investigation shall be dealt with as a separate matter and may result in additional disciplinary action.

March 1995

SOURCE: Georgetown

Adopted on: September 27, 2007