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ACAA - Harassment and Sexual Harassment of Students

Book A

Section: Foundations and Basic Commitments

Title: Harassment and Sexual Harassment of Students

Code: ACAA

Status: Active 

Adopted: March 6, 1992

Last Revised: June 18, 2024


HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF STUDENTS

Safe and Equitable Schools: Preventing and Addressing Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Harassment

1. Affirming our Mission

All students have the right to attend school free from discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment, assault, and misconduct, based on membership in a protected category. This policy addresses harassment and discrimination of students based on race (including traits associated with race involving hair texture, Afro hairstyles, and protective hairstyles, such as braids, twists, and locs), color, sex (including sex stereotypes and sex characteristics), sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry or national origin, language, genetic information, pregnancy (or related conditions)/family status, or disability (mental or physical) (hereinafter referred to collectively as “protected categories”).

Portland Public Schools (PPS) affirms our intention to create a climate of respect, inclusion, and equity for all. We acknowledge that historical and societal biases shape our school policies, culture, and interpersonal interactions. We commit to increased prevention programming and education and swifter intervention when problems are reported. We commit to repairing the harm caused to individuals and to school communities when there are incidents or patterns of bias, discrimination, harassment, or sexual harassment. We strive to create a school district where all students, staff, and faculty feel safe and welcome.

The Board prohibits discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment, of students at school or at school-sponsored or school-related activities. The Board also prohibits retaliatory behavior or action against any person who reports, files a complaint or testifies about, or otherwise supports a complainant in alleging discrimination or harassment. Any prohibited conduct that occurs off campus or outside of school-related or school-sponsored programs or activities will be regarded as a violation of district policy if it interferes with access to any school program or services or creates a hostile school environment for the complainant or victim of the conduct.

PPS will use age-appropriate preventative and responsive strategies that empower victims of discrimination and harassment, ensure school safety, and support positive behavioral change. We will emphasize training and education of all school members to prioritize the prevention and de-escalation of bias-related incidents. We will use educational interventions to resolve issues when possible, keeping the following at the forefront:

  • We will focus on the safety and well-being of the targeted person/groups throughout the investigation and resolution of a report or complaint;
  • When an individual’s physical or emotional safety and/or educational rights are in jeopardy, we will take swift action to stop the unsafe behaviors and address harm;
  • We maintain privacy and confidentiality as required by law and school policy, and we will provide a non-punitive response when it serves the goals of this policy;
  • We will provide support to those who experience direct and indirect harm from discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment, after the resolution of a particular complaint as needed and desired by the complainant; and
  • We will work to address reports that suggest there are patterns of harassment or discrimination, even if those reports do not become formal complaints.

2. Definitions

A.“Discrimination”: Treating individuals differently, interfering with, or preventing them from enjoying the advantages or privileges afforded to others because of their membership or targeted/perceived membership in a protected category. Policies and practices that have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination, or that disparately and adversely impact individuals belonging to a protected category, irrespective of intent, may constitute discrimination.

Examples include (but not limited to):

1. disparities in access to educational programs, including extra-curriculars, honor societies, and classes;

2. disparities in discipline, including severity of consequences for misbehavior; and/or

3. disparities in the application of school policies, such as dress code enforcement or congregating in informal spaces.

B. “Harassment”: Oral, written, graphic, electronic or physical conduct relating to an individual’s actual or perceived membership in a protected category that has a negative impact on a student and interferes with or limits that individual’s ability to participate in the school’s programs or activities by creating a hostile, intimidating, or offensive environment. Harassment based on membership in a protected category is a form of prohibited discrimination.

Examples include (but not limited to):

1. teasing or joking about a person based on their identity that continues after the accused has been asked to stop;

2. using racial epithets or images; and/or

3. threatening a person with violence if they don’t conform to particular ways of expressing their gender identity (note: threats of violence can also be criminal violations under Maine’s Hate Crime laws).

Harassment that rises to the level of physical assault, battery and/or abuse, and/or bullying behavior is also addressed in Board Policies JICIA – Weapons, Violence and School Safety and JICK – Bullying.

C. “Sexual Harassment”: Sexual harassment is addressed under federal and state laws/regulations. The scope and definitions of sexual harassment under these laws and Board policy differ, as described below.

1. Title IX Sexual Harassment

Under federal Title IX regulations, sexual harassment includes the following conduct on the basis of sex which takes place within the context of, or contributes to a hostile environment under, the district’s education programs and activities:

a.“Quid pro quo” harassment: An employee, agent, or other person authorized by the district to provide an aid, benefit, or service (such as a better grade or a college recommendation) under the district’s education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditioning the provision of such an aid, benefit, or service on a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct;

b.“Hostile environment” harassment: Unwelcome sex-based conduct that, based on the totality of the circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive and is so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the district’s education program or activity (i.e., creates a hostile environment); or

c. Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking as these terms are defined in federal laws.

2. Sexual Harassment under Maine Law

Under Maine law, sexual harassment means verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature directed at a specific person, including, but not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances; sexually suggestive remarks or actions; unwanted hugs, touches or kisses; and requests for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes retaliation for communicating about or filing a complaint of sexual harassment.

3. Sexual Harassment under Board Policy

Examples of types of conduct which are prohibited in the district include but are not limited to those listed below. These types of conduct may constitute sexual harassment under Title IX or Maine law when they satisfy one of the above definitions but are prohibited as a matter of Board policy whether or not they violate the law.

a. Unwelcome leering, sexual flirtations, or propositions;

b. Unwelcome sexual slurs, epithets, threats, verbal abuse, derogatory comments, or sexually degrading descriptions;

c. Graphic verbal comments about an individual’s body, unwanted sexual comments or questions, or overly personal conversation;

d. Sexual jokes, derogatory posters, notes, stories, cartoons, drawings, pictures, obscene gestures, or computer-generated images of a sexual nature;

e. Spreading sexual rumors;

f. Teasing or sexual remarks about students enrolled in a predominantly single-sex class or activity;

g. Massaging, grabbing, fondling, stroking, or brushing the body;

h. Touching an individual’s body or clothes in a sexual way;

i. Impeding or blocking an individual’s movements or any physical interference with school activities when directed at an individual on the basis of sex or gender expression;

j. Displaying sexually suggestive objects;

k.  Sexual assault, sexual battery, or sexual coercion;

l. Sexual violence which is the perpetration of a sexual act on a person without their affirmative consent;

m. Sharing of sexually explicit pictures without the consent of the person in the picture or pictures (note: sharing sexual pictures can also be a criminal act if the picture is of a minor or is disseminated with the intent to harass, torment, or threaten the depicted person); and/or

n. Electronic communications containing comments, words, or images described above, including AI-generated or other digitally altered representations that replicate an individual’s image, voice, or likeness.

 

3. Reports and Complaints of Harassment, Discrimination, or Sexual Harassment

All school employees who have not been designated as confidential employees are required to report possible incidents of harassment, discrimination, or sexual harassment involving students to the Title IX Coordinator. Failure to report such incidents may result in disciplinary action.

Students, parents/legal guardians, and others are strongly encouraged to report possible incidents of harassment, discrimination, or sexual harassment involving students to the Title IX Coordinator or school level Liaison. The Title IX Coordinator and school level Liaison are also available to answer questions and provide assistance to any individual who is unsure whether harassment, discrimination, or sexual harassment has occurred.

All reports and complaints of harassment, discrimination, or sexual harassment against students shall be addressed through the Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Harassment of Students Complaint Procedure (ACAA-R).

Reports of abuse or sexual misconduct may require a report to the Department of Health and Human Services if the alleged victim is a minor and to the police if suspected criminal activity has occurred (see policy JLF – Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect).

All employees upon hiring, change of position, and annually thereafter must complete training on 1) the district’s obligation to address harassment, discrimination, and sexual harassment in its programs and activities, 2) the scope of conduct that constitutes harassment, discrimination, and sexual harassment, and 3) the employee’s responsibility to provide information about specific actions the Title IX Coordinator can coordinate to prevent harm and ensure equal access to the district’s education programs and activities.

 

4.    Reporting without Fear of Consequences or Retaliation

PPS encourages all students, staff, and community members who witness or experience harassment or discrimination to report the behavior to an adult in the community. We acknowledge that students may want to first seek confidential resources and will notify students of these resources through our website, student handbook, and annual notifications.

In order to ensure that the district meets its under obligations under Title IX to monitor for barriers to reporting harassment, discrimination, and sexual harassment, PPS will maintain an anonymous reporting process to provide students the option to make a report without elevating it to a formal complaint. However, this process will not necessarily allow for investigation, remedial action, and accountability but will be part of the district’s overall annual report on school climate and needs for change. The process for making anonymous reports may be modified by the Superintendent’s office, in consultation with the Title IX Coordinator.

The experience of bringing a formal complaint can be difficult for anyone. Retaliation for making a complaint will absolutely not be tolerated. Support from community partners and school personnel will be offered to parties involved in formal complaint proceedings, and PPS will protect privacy and confidentiality to the extent possible by law (see ACAA-R for details).

School faculty and staff will work in partnership with students to identify and address patterns of discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment that threaten educational equity. We will use a variety of tools, including engaging student activists, climate surveys, listening sessions, and incorporating suggestions from students and community partners as problems and solutions are identified.

 

Legal Reference:      Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., as amended; 28 C.F.R. § 35.107)

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) (29 U.S.C. §§ 794 et seq., as amended; 34 C.F.R. § 104.7)

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.; 34 C.F.R. Part 106)

Clery Act (20 U.S.C. § 1092(f)(6)(A)(v) – definition of sexual assault)

Violence Against Women Act (34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(35) – definition of sexual assault; 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(11) – definition of dating violence; 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(36) – definition of stalking; 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(12) – definition of domestic violence)

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d)

Maine Human Rights Act (5 M.R.S.A. §§ 4551 et seq.)

20-A M.R.S.A. § 6553 (prohibition of hazing)

20-A M.R.S.A. § 6554 (prohibition on bullying in public schools)

14 M.R.S.A. § 6000 (definition of sexual harassment)

17-A M.R.S.A. § 283 (dissemination of sexually explicit material)

17-A M.R.S.A. § 511-A (unauthorized dissemination of certain private images)

MDOE/MHRC Joint Rule on Equal Educational Opportunity (94-348 C.M.R. ch. 4; 05-071 C.M.R. ch. 4)

 

Cross Reference:     ACAA-R – Student Discrimination and Complaint Procedure

AC – Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action

ACAD – Hazing

JFCK – Student Use of Cellular Telephones and Other Electronic Devices

JICIA – Weapons, Violence and School Safety

JICK – Bullying and Cyberbullying in Schools

JLF – Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect

 

Adopted:                    March 6, 1992

 

Revised:                    August 26, 1992; May 31, 2000; November 28, 2001; April 6, 2006; February 27, 2018; October 20, 2020; June 18, 2024

 

Complete update:    May 14, 2013