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RATIONALE/OBJECTIVE:
The Cobb County School District (District)
seeks to provide its students with an educational environment free from all
forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is
unlawful under federal law and is specifically prohibited by the District.
RULE:
See Administrative
Rule GBAA (Sexual Harassment) for
harassment among and between employees.
A. PROHIBITED CONDUCT:
1. Sexual harassment undermines the integrity of the
educational environment.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests
for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature constitute
sexual harassment when:
a. Such conduct unreasonably
interferes with a student's educational performance or
creates an
intimidating, hostile or offensive educational environment;
b. Submission to such conduct is made
a term or condition of a student's educational
development;
or
c. Submission to or rejection of such
conduct by a student is used as a basis for
education
decisions affecting the individual.
2. Refer to the District Student Codes of Conduct for
specific information regarding
prohibited conduct and ranges of
disciplinary consequences for such conduct.
Examples of prohibited conduct for
which a student may file a complaint include, but
are not limited to:
a. Offensive or unwelcome sexual
advances or propositions;
b. Any unwelcome intentional touching
of intimate body areas;
c. Employees or other adults who
enter the school setting asking students for
dates and/or
dating students;
d. Verbal abuse of a sexual nature;
e. Graphic or degrading verbal
comments about an individual or his/her physical
attributes;
f. The display of sexually suggestive
objects, pictures, cards or letters;
g. Lewd or suggestive comments or
gestures, off-color language or jokes of a
sexual nature.
3. Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances,
including but not limited
to, the following:
a. The victim as well as the harasser
can be male or female. The victim does not have
to be of the
opposite sex.
b. The harasser can be an employee of
the District, a non-employee, or another
student.
c. The victim does not have to be the
person harassed but can be directly affected
by the
offensive conduct.
d. Unlawful sexual harassment can
occur without economic injury to the victim.
B. FILING A COMPLAINT:
1. Any student who believes that he/she has been subjected to
sexual harassment by
an employee, non-employee, or student
should immediately notify the Principal or
designee of the incident(s) giving
rise to such harassment.
2. In situations where a student reports sexual harassment
directly to a teacher or in
cases where a teacher witnesses
sexual harassment of a student, the teacher should
immediately notify the Principal or
designee of the incident(s) giving rise to such
harassment.
3. If the alleged harasser is the building administrator, the
student should notify
Human Resources, Cobb County School
District of the incident giving rise to such
harassment.
4. When the Principal or designee receives a report of sexual
harassment involving a
student, they must document the
alleged incident in writing and immediately
contact:
a. Human Resources if the allegation
concerns harassment by an adult who is not a
student; or
b. Policy and Planning Division or
Area Assistant Superintendent if the
allegation
concerns harassment by another student.
5. The Principal or designee or Human Resources, if the
alleged harasser is a building
administrator, shall interview the
complaining party at the earliest practical time in
order to secure the details and
circumstances giving rise to the complaint.
6. The complaining party shall complete and sign the
complaint form (Form JICK-1)
detailing the basis for the
complaint.
7. The Principal or designee shall transmit a copy of the
complaint to Human Resources
if the alleged harasser is an adult
who is not a student.
C. INVESTIGATION:
1. The Principal or designee shall conduct an investigation
to determine whether the
charge or complaint has a basis in
fact.
2. This investigation shall be conducted in cooperation with
Human Resources if the
alleged harasser is an employee.
Human Resources shall conduct the investigation
when the complaint is filed directly
with the Department.
3. Such investigation shall include, but is not be limited
to, an interview with the
charged party or parties, interviews
with witnesses, if any, and an examination of any
relevant documents.
4. At the conclusion of a timely investigation, the Principal
or designee or Human
Resources shall prepare a written
report that sets forth the findings of the
investigation and the evidence in
support of the findings.
D. RESOLUTION OF THE COMPLAINT:
1. In the event that it is determined that the charging party
has been a victim of sexual
harassment, the Principal or
designee, in conjunction with the Superintendent and
Human Resources, if the harasser is
an adult who is not a student or the Policy and
Planning Division if the alleged
harasser is a student, shall recommend appropriate
disciplinary action so as to ensure
that the harasser does not repeat or continue to
engage in such acts of sexual
harassment.
2. Such disciplinary action may include, but not be limited
to:
a. A recommendation for non-renewal
or termination for employees;
b. The provisions of the Student
Codes of Conduct for students.
E. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PROCEEDINGS:
1. The filing of a charge or complaint; investigation of the
charge or complaint; identity
of the charging party, charged party,
and any witnesses to the incident shall be
maintained in confidence.
2. Only those persons who have a need to know for purposes of
the investigation or
resolution of the charge or complaint
shall be informed of the fact that a charge has
been filed and/or the names or
identities of the persons involved.
3. Any employee who releases information concerning the
charge or identity of persons
involved shall be subject to
disciplinary action.
F. NO RETALIATION:
1. Any reprisals or retaliations against person(s) filing a
sexual harassment complaint or
participating in the investigation or
resolution of the complaint are prohibited.
2. Any employee who retaliates against such person(s) as a
result of their participation
in the process shall be subject to
disciplinary action.
G. PUBLICATION AND NOTIFICATION:
1. This Rule on sexual harassment and the procedure contained
herein will be explained
to all students.
2. Acts of physical sexual harassment or molestation must be
reported to the Cobb
County School District Office of
Public Safety who shall involve outside law
enforcement and the district
attorney’s office as required by state law.
H. FALSE CHARGES:
Students or employees who knowingly make false charges of harassment may be
subject to disciplinary action as well as any civil or criminal legal
proceedings.
Approved: 7/14/04
Reclassified an Administrative Rule: 9/1/04
Revised: 7/9/97; 9/18/00; 7/14/04; 8/10/05 |