Student Rights and Responsibilities: Ffh Sexual Harassment/Sexual Abuse (Regulation)

Ector County ISD

068901

STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: FFH SEXUAL HARASSMENT/SEXUAL ABUSE (REGULATION)

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURES

The Title IX coordinator or designee will consider the following guidelines when handling any student complaint of sexual harassment or sexual abuse committed by an employee or another adult associated with the District, or a complaint of student-to-student sexual harassment when the allegations presented, if proven, would constitute sexual harassment or other prohibited harassment as defined by District policy.

The investigator should allow the student to be accompanied by a parent, friend, or advisor throughout the complaint process.

If at all possible, the investigator should be of the same sex as the student.

In conducting the investigation, the investigator will:

1. Notify parents of the allegations, explain to them the purpose of the investigation, and keep them apprised during the process.

2. Notify parents of their rights and provide them with the name of the District’s Title IX coordinator.

3. Notify Child Protective Services of the Department of Family and Protective Services or local law enforcement within 48 hours, if there is cause to believe the student has been sexually abused or neglected or has been a victim of indecency with a child.

4. Investigate all complaints promptly and thoroughly. If the investigation is delayed beyond the time set out in policy, the Title IX coordinator or designee will notify the parents.

5. Maintain confidentiality to the extent possible and as allowed by law and advise the complainant that limited disclosure may be necessary to complete a thorough investigation.

6. Assure complainant of protection from retaliation.

7. Advise complainant that the District will not tolerate sexual harassment, and help the complainant feel secure about presenting allegations of wrong doing.

8. Reduce all complaints to writing. If the student refuses to make or sign a written complaint, the administrator will care- fully document the allegations in writing and record the date and circumstances of the interview.

9. Take a sworn statement if at all possible.

10. Secure any physical evidence.

11. Take immediate action to protect the student from the alleged situation.

12. Interview the complainant first, proceeding chronologically through the allegations.

13. Interview the alleged victim, if that person is not also the complainant. Assure the alleged victim of protection from retaliation.

14. During interviews, take detailed notes and read the notes to witnesses to verify accuracy. Record facts, not conclusions. In addition, the interviewer may audio-record the interview.

15. Summarize interview notes, and ask witnesses to view them for accuracy and to sign the summary if it accurately reflects their statements. If a witness declines to sign the summary or to allow the use of his or her name, the interviewer will note that restriction and retain the unsigned document.

16. Interview the alleged harasser and take a written or sworn statement, if possible. The alleged harasser will be presented with all allegations and allowed the opportunity to respond to each.

17. Advise the alleged harasser that retaliation against the victim or any witnesses is strictly prohibited by the District’s sexual harassment policy.

18. Interview any witnesses.

19. Not concede the truth or falsehood of the allegations during the course of the investigation.

20. Not divulge information regarding the identity of the victim or alleged perpetrator unnecessarily when interviewing other witnesses.

21. Document all efforts made to investigate the alleged abuse or harassment.

22. Prepare a written report of the investigation.

23. Communicate the results of the investigation to the victim and the alleged harasser.

24. If the conclusion of the investigation warrants dismissal

of the complaint, follow up to assure that behavior giving rise

to the allegations does not occur.

25. If the complaint is dismissed, advise the student and parents how to use the student complaint process to appeal the decision, and notify them of their right to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

26. If the conclusion of the investigation warrants discipline of an employee harasser, proceed with the appropriate course of action. Appropriate discipline may include a warning, formal reprimand, reassignment, paid or unpaid suspension, nonrenewal, or termination.

27. Notify SBEC if an educator’s employment is terminated or if the educator resigns and reasonable evidence supports a recommendation to terminate based on a determination that the educator engaged in certain criminal misconduct. [See DF]

28. If the conclusion of the investigation warrants discipline of a student harasser, proceed with the appropriate course of action, in accordance with the District’s Student Code of Conduct. Appropriate discipline may include verbal warnings, reprimands, counseling, sexual harassment training, separation from the victim, suspension, placement in a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP), expulsion, or other sanction consistent with the Student Code of Conduct and state law. As always, students are to be treated fairly and equitably, with consideration given to the seriousness of the offense, the student’s age, frequency of misconduct, the student’s attitude, and the potential effect of the misconduct on the school environment.

29. Maintain the records of the investigation in accordance with

FB(LOCAL).