The Board of Education is committed to a work environment that is free of harassment of any form. The Board will not tolerate any form of harassment and will take all necessary and appropriate action to eliminate it. Any member of the School District community who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Additionally, appropriate action will be taken to stop and otherwise deal with any third party who engages in harassment against our employees.

For purposes of this policy, "School District community" means individuals subject to the control and supervision of the Board including, but not limited to, student, teachers, staff, volunteers, and Board members. "Third party" means individuals outside the School District community who participate in school activities and events authorized by the Board including, but not limited to, visiting speakers, participants on opposing athletic teams, and vendors doing business with, or seeking to do business with, the District.

Harassment consists of unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, physical, or visual, that is based on a person's protected status, such as sex, color, race, ancestry, creed, religion, genetic information, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, veteran status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, arrest record, conviction record, or other protected group status, which affects tangible job benefits, interferes unreasonably with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Harassment may occur employee-to-employee, student-to-employee, male-to-female, female-to-male, male-to-male, or female-to-female.

Sexual harassment deserves special mention. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other physical, verbal, or visual conduct based on sex constitutes sexual harassment when:

Sexual relationships between staff members, where one staff member has supervisory responsibilities over the other, are discouraged as a matter of Board policy. Such relationships have an inherent possibility of being construed as sexual harassment because the consensual aspect of the relationship may be the result of implicit or explicit duress caused by uncertainty regarding the consequences of non-compliance.

Prohibited disability harassment occurs when unwelcome physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct is based upon an individual’s disability and when the conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with the individual’s work or educational performance; of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working and/or learning environment; or of interfering with one’s ability to participate in or benefit from a class or an educational program or activity. Such harassment may occur where conduct is directed at the characteristics of a person’s disabling condition, such as negative comments about speech patterns, movement, physical impairments or defects/appearances, or the like. Such harassment may further occur where conduct is directed at or pertains to a person's genetic information.

The District Administrator shall prepare written administrative guidelines for employees to report alleged harassment prohibited under this policy to appropriate school administrators. The reporting procedures shall, at a minimum, provide as follows:

The District Administrator shall prepare written administrative guidelines for investigating complaints of harassment. These procedures will, at a minimum, provide as follows:

Upon receipt of a report that a violation has occurred, the School District will take prompt, appropriate formal or informal action to address, and where appropriate, remediate the violation. Appropriate actions may include, but are not limited to, counseling, awareness training, warning, suspension, exclusion, transfer, remediation, termination, or discharge. School District action taken for violation of this policy shall be consistent with the requirements of applicable collective bargaining agreements, State and Federal law, and School District policies for violations of a similar nature or similar degree of severity.

If the evidence suggests that the harassment at issue is also a crime, the Board shall also direct the District Administrator to report the results of the investigation to the appropriate social service and/or law enforcement agency charged with responsibility for handling such crimes.

In accord with State and Federal laws regarding privacy and other rights, the District Administrator shall provide the complainant and other parties with a written answer to the complaint within ninety (90) calendar days of receiving the Investigator's report.

The District Administrator may also develop written procedures for the complainant and alleged harasser to appeal his/her answer. These procedures may include a means for these individuals to appeal the answer to the District Administrator and the Board.

Submission of a good faith complaint or report of harassment will not affect the complainant's or reporter's work status or work environment. However, the Board also recognizes that false or fraudulent claims of harassment or false or fraudulent information about such claims may be filed. The Board reserves the right to discipline any person filing a false or fraudulent claim of harassment or false or fraudulent information about such a claim.

The District will discipline or take appropriate action against any member of the School District community who retaliates against any person who reports an incident of harassment prohibited by this policy or participates in a proceeding, investigation, or hearing relating to such harassment. Retaliation includes, but is not limited to, any form of intimidation, reprisal, or harassment.

The District shall conspicuously post a notice including this policy against harassment in each school in a place accessible to the School District community and members of the public. This notice shall also include the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the Complaint Coordinators, the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the State agency responsible for investigating allegations of discrimination in educational opportunities, and the mailing address and telephone number of the United States Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.

A copy of this policy and any related administrative guidelines shall be made available upon request of employees and other interested parties.

The Board will ensure that methods are developed for discussing this policy with the School District community. Training on the requirements of non-discrimination and the appropriate responses to issues of harassment will be provided to the School District community on an annual basis, and at such other times as the Board in consultation with the District Administrator determines is necessary or appropriate.

This policy shall be reviewed at least annually for compliance with local, State, and Federal law.

The Board will respect the privacy of the complainant, the individuals against whom the complaint is filed, and the witnesses as much as practicable, consistent with the Board's legal obligations to investigate, to take appropriate action, and to conform with any discovery, disclosure, or other legal obligations.

Sec. 111.31, Wis. Stats.
118.195, Wis. Stats.
Sec. 118.20, Wis. Stats.
20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq., Title IX
29 701 et seq., Rehabilitation Act of 1973
29 U.S.C. 794
29 C.F.R. Part 1635
42 U.S.C. 1983
42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.
42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.
42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.
42 U.S.C. 12112, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
42 U.S.C. 2000ff et seq., The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
National School Boards Association Inquiry and Analysis - May 2008

Revised 11/11/02
Revised 6/12/06
Revised 7/12/10
Revised 1/10/11