Hazing activities of any type are inconsistent with and disruptive to the educational process, and prohibited at any time in school facilities, on school property, and/or off school property if the misconduct is connected to activities or incidents that have occurred on school property. No administrator, faculty member, or other Board of Education employee shall encourage, permit, authorize, condone, or tolerate any hazing activities. No student, including leaders of student organizations, shall plan, encourage, or engage in any hazing.

Hazing is defined as performing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any student, or other, organization that causes, or creates as substantial risk of causing, mental or physical harm to any person. Permission, consent, or assumption of risk by an individual subjected to hazing does not lessen the prohibition contained in this policy.

Administrators, faculty members, and all other employees of the school district shall be particularly alert to possible situations, circumstances or events that might include hazing. If hazing, or planned hazing, is discovered, involved students shall be informed, by the discovering school employee, of the prohibition contained in this policy and shall be required to end all hazing activities immediately. All hazing incidents shall be reported immediately to the Superintendent.

Administrators, faculty members, students, and all other employees who fail to abide by this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, and may be liable for civil and criminal penalties in accordance with Ohio law.

The contents of this policy shall be distributed, in writing, to all students and School District employees, following its official adoption by the Board. In addition, this policy shall be incorporated into building, staff and student handbooks and shall be the subject of discussion at employee staff meetings and inservice programs.

Administrators, staff members, and volunteers shall not intentionally remain ignorant of hazing or potential hazing activities.

R.C. 2307.44, 2903.31, 3313.661

Revised 1/3/07