Brevard County (Florida)
Administrative Procedures
 

1362 - HARASSMENT AND NON-DISCRIMINATION PROCEDURES

Brevard County Public Schools shall comply with all Federal laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination and with all requirements and regulations of the U.S. Department of Education. It is the policy of the Board that no employee or candidate for a position in this District shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, marital status, disability, or other legally-protected characteristic be discriminated against, excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to, discrimination in any program or activity for which the District is responsible or for which it receives financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education.

The District recognizes that employees have the right to work in an environment untainted by sexual or other forms of harassment or discrimination. Offensive conduct which has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, discriminatory, or offensive educational environment disrupts the educational process and impedes the legitimate pedagogical concerns of the District. Sexual and other forms of harassment will not be tolerated.

Sexual harassment includes all unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature whenever submission to such conduct is made a condition of employment or a basis for an employment decision. Under certain circumstances, sexual harassment may constitute sexual abuse under Federal law (Title VII and Title IX) and the Florida Equity Act. In all such cases, school personnel will comply with applicable statutes, rules, and laws and take immediate action to protect the victim of alleged abuse. Other prohibited harassment includes conduct that has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, discriminatory, or offensive educational environment on the basis of gender, religion, race, color, national origin or ancestry, age, disability, marital status, and/or any other legally protected characteristic.

The harassment of a staff member or student of this District, or third party (visiting speaker, athletic team member, volunteer, parent, etc.) is strictly forbidden. Any employee of the District who is found to have harassed a staff member, student, or third party will be subject to discipline in accordance with law, statute, and/or procedure.

Discrimination includes:
 

Any slurs, innuendoes, or other verbal or physical conduct reflecting on an individual’s race, religion, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, marital status, disability, or handicap which has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive educational or work environment; has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual’s work or school performance or participation; or otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment or educational opportunities.

Sexual harassment includes:

 A.The denial of or provision of aid, benefits, grades, rewards, employment, faculty assistance, services, or treatment on the basis of sexual advances or requests for sexual favors.
 B.Sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
  1.submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or educational career;
  2.submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as a basis for educational or employment decisions affecting the individual; or,
  3.such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or educational performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or educational environment.

The Superintendent shall appoint a compliance officer whose responsibility will be to ensure that Federal and State regulations related to discrimination and harassment by or of employees are complied with and that any complaints are dealt with promptly in accordance with law. The compliance officer shall also ensure that proper notice of nondiscrimination for Title II, Title VI, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act is provided to staff members and the general public. Any sections of the District’s collectively bargained agreements dealing with hiring, promotion, and tenure shall contain a statement of nondiscrimination.

Retaliation against anyone reporting or thought to have reported discriminating or harassment behaviors is prohibited. Such retaliation shall be considered a serious violation of policy and shall be considered independent of whether a charge or informal complaint of discrimination or sexual harassment is substantiated.

Any employee or student who is found to have knowingly filed a false sexual harassment or discrimination complaint will be subject to discipline by the School District. S/He may also be held personally liable for his/her misconduct through civil suit by the injured employee and may also be criminally prosecuted under F.S. 837.06.

In determining whether alleged conduct constitutes discrimination or harassment, the totality of the circumstances, the nature of the conduct, and the context in which the alleged conduct occurred will be investigated.

A substantiated charge against an employee for discrimination or harassment shall subject that perpetrator to disciplinary action, which may include, but may not be limited to the following: written warning, written reprimand, suspension, and/or dismissal. The severity of the disciplinary action will depend on the frequency, circumstances, and severity of the offense.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE FOR DISCRIMINATION OR HARASSMENT

Employees alleging discrimination or harassment shall have access to the grievance procedures as outlined below.

 A.A grievance is an allegation that there has been a violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of any specific provision of Federal law, Florida statute, State agency regulation, or Board policy.
 B.As used herein, the term "days" shall mean those days on which the District's business offices are open.
  1.If the grievant fails to meet the specified time restrictions provided herein, the grievance shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
  2.If the appropriate administrator fails to act within the time restrictions provided herein, the grievant shall have the right to proceed to the next step in the procedure.
 C.Time limits may be extended by mutual written agreement provided that whenever illness or other incapacity prohibits either party from attending a grievance interview, the time limits shall be extended until the affected party(ies) can be present.
 D.The appropriate grievance administrator shall schedule grievance interviews at each step.
 E.If a grievance interview shall be convened by the grievance administrator during an employee’s working hours, the employee shall suffer no loss of pay as a result of attending such meeting.
 F.An investigation, handling, or processing of any grievance shall be conducted so as to not interfere with the instructional program and with as little disruption of the employee’s and/or grievance administrator’s work activity as is possible.
 G.Any employee, student, or vendor found to be discussing, tampering with, or publicizing as allegation or investigation thereof shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including written warning, written reprimand, suspension and/or dismissal.

The steps described below must be followed in the submittal and resolution of employee grievances:

Step 1:

An employee should first take the complaint to the person(s) involved and/or appropriate division/department official and try to solve the problem informally. If this does not work, then he/she may go on to the next step. The employee may begin the process at the second step.
   

Step 2:

The employee must give the official a written and signed grievance form no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the event giving rise to the grievance. A copy of the grievance is not to be given to any other person involved. The grievance shall describe the problem and give all the facts. The employee should tell what would be the best solution to the problem. The division/department official shall make a decision within seven (7) days.
   

Step 3:

If an employee does not agree with the division/department official’s decision, s/he may send another grievance, just as in Step 2, to the Compliance Officer. A copy of the grievance is to be given to the division/department official. This must be done within seven (7) days after receiving the division/department official’s decision. The Compliance Officer will investigate the allegation(s) and make a decision within seven (7) days after receiving the grievance.
   

Step 4:

Within seven (7) days following his/her receipt of the Step 3 decision, the grievant, if not satisfied with the resolution of the grievance at Step 3, may submit the completed grievance form to the Superintendent or designee. Within seven (7) days of receipt of the Step 4 filing the Superintendent or designee shall met in an effort to resolve the grievance. The Superintendent or designee shall submit his/her written decision to the grievant within seven (7) days of the Step 4 meeting.
   

Step 5:

Within seven (7) days following his/her receipt of the Step 4 decision, the grievant, if not satisfied with the resolution of the grievance at Step 4, may file a summary of any objections to the Step 4 decision with the Superintendent who shall furnish copies to the Board. The Board shall determine at its next regular meeting whether to take up the grievance at a meeting to be set by the Board no later than thirty (30) calendar days following such determination.

Any District employee that is represented by a collective bargaining agreement may utilize the grievance procedure specified in their relevant collective bargaining agreement. Those employees represented by a collective bargaining agreement should refer to their appropriate agreement.

F.S. 1000.05, 1001.41, 1001.42
20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq., Title IX
29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.
29 U.S.C. 701 et seq., Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
29 U.S.C. 794
42 U.S.C. 2000 et seq.
42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq., Civil Rights Act of 1964
42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.
42 U.S.C. 12112, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
42 U.S.C. Civil Rights Act of 1983

Revised 10/04