Office of Coordinated School Health

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Office of Coordinated School Health

• Annual Harassment Training
• Including Sexual Harassment, Bullying, and
  Discrimination
• For School System Employees

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• Loudon County Schools is committed to the safety
  of its students and employees therefore, all
  certified and non-certified staff are required to
  receive annual training in Sexual Harassment,
  Bullying, and Discrimination.
• For your convenience and to provide a more
  effective program, these trainings are now
  available electronically and on the school
  systems website at www.loudoncounty.org.
• All employees must complete the training by
  September 15th of each school year. Upon
  completion, each employee should sign the master
  Acknowledgement of Completion form that is
  maintained by the principal/department
  supervisor.
• This presentation includes the Acknowledgement of
  Completion. The principal/department supervisor
  is to print and maintain as many copies of this
  form as necessary. The principal/department
  supervisor must return the Acknowledgement of
  Completion form annually to the Central Office
  Contact listed below on or before September 30th
  of each school year.
• For more information, please contact Alison
  Millsaps, Food/Health Services Supervisor,
  458-5411 ext. 1011, millsapsa_at_loudoncounty.org

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Training Objectives

• Identify forms of harassment
• Enhance understanding of preventive measures
• Be familiar with federal and state laws, state
  and system policies regarding harassment
• Know the complaint process
• Identify specific corrective actions that will
  help remedy harassment situations in the
  classroom and on the job

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Non-Discrimination Policies

• It is the policy of the Loudon County School
  System to maintain a learning and working
  environment that is free from discrimination/haras
  sment of any type. The school system prohibits
  any form of discrimination on the basis of race,
  creed, national origin, sex, age, marital status,
  or disability in its educational programs,
  activities or employment practices in accordance
  with the requirements of Titles VI and VII or the
  1964 Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the 1972
  Educational Amendments, Section 504 of the
  Federal Rehabilitation Act, Title II of the 1990
  Americans with Disabilities Act, and the 1975 Age
  Discrimination and Employment Act.

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Loudon County Board of Education Policies

• 5.500 Discrimination/Harassment of Employees
• 6.304 Discrimination/Harassment of Students
• These policies are in compliance with TSBA
  policies state laws TCA 49-6-3109,
  49-6-1014-1019, and TCA 49-2-120 and federal
  non-discrimination laws.

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964The
Civil Rights Act of 1991

• Prohibits discrimination based on
• race
• color
• national origin
• religion
• sex

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Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

• Amendment to Civil Rights Act
• Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy,
  childbirth or related medical conditions
  constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under
  Title VII.

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Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

• Prohibits discrimination against persons aged 40
  and over based on age
• By employers in hiring, promotion, discharge,
  compensation, conditions and privileges of
  employment, in classifying, limiting or
  segregating employees or job applicants

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Sexual Harassment in School

• Sexual harassment of students is illegal. A
  federal law, Title IX of the Education Amendments
  of 1972 (Title IX), prohibits discrimination on
  the basis of sex, including sexual harassment, in
  education programs and activities. All public and
  private education institutions that receive any
  federal funds must comply with Title IX, which
  protects students from harassment connected to
  any of the academic, educational,
  extracurricular, athletic, and other programs or
  activities of schools, regardless of the
  location. Both male and female students are
  protected from sexual harassment by any school
  employee, another student, or a non-employee
  third party.

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Definition of Sexual Harassment

• Sexual harassment is unwanted sexual or
  gender-based behavior that occurs when one person
  has formal or informal power over the other.
• There are three elements to sexual harassment
• The behavior is unwanted or unwelcome.
• The behavior is sexual or related to the gender
  of the person.
• The behavior occurs in the context of a
  relationship where one person has more formal
  power than the other, such as a supervisor over
  an employee or a faculty member over a student
  or more informal power, such as one peer over
  another.

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Types of Sexual Harassment

• Sexual harassment exists when any of four
  conditions are met
• Submission to the conduct is made a term or
  condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of
  obtaining education or employment (quid pro quo
  harassment)
• Submission to or rejection of the conduct is used
  as a factor in decisions affecting that persons
  education or employment (quid pro quo
  harassment)
• The conduct has either the purpose or effect of
  substantially interfering with a persons
  education or employment (hostile environment
  harassment)
• The conduct creates an intimidating, hostile or
  offensive educational or work environment.
  (hostile environment harassment)

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Important Legal Terms

• Quid pro quo harassment Harasser requires sexual
  favors of victim in return for some action by
  harasser, or harasser retaliates against victim
  for denying sexual favors.
• Hostile environment harassment
• Victim is usually subjected to unwelcome repeated
  sexual comments, innuendoes or touching, which
  alter conditions or interfere with school or
  employment performance or access to opportunities
  provided by the institution.
• Conduct is gender-based, and creates an
  intimidating or offensive place for employees to
  work or students to go to school.
• Can occur off campus grounds, e.g., school
  sporting event, on bus, on school trip, in
  college-sponsored internship programs.
• Can be caused by teachers, administrators, bus
  drivers or other staff, students, vendors, or
  persons temporarily on campus.

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Important Legal Terms

• Unwelcome A way of determining whether conduct
  is sexual harassment. Unwelcome means conduct
  was not wanted or willingly permitted. Victim may
  voluntarily submit to sexual intercourse, but
  behavior may still be considered unwelcome.
• Reasonable person A standard used by the U.S.
  Supreme Court to determine if conduct is sexual
  harassment. Sexual harassment if a reasonable
  person with the victims perspective would
  consider it so.

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What is Sexual Harassment?

• Conduct of a sexual nature
• Is unwelcome
• Denies or limits an individuals ability to
  participate in or receive the benefits of the
  recipients program.

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What is Sexual Harassment?

• Can take on may different forms depending on the
  harasser and the nature of the harassment
• Conduct can occur in any school program or
  activity and can take place in school facilities,
  on a school bus, or at other off-campus
  locations, such as a school-sponsored field trip
  or a training program at another location.
• Conduct can be verbal, nonverbal, or physical.

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Types of Prohibited Conduct

• Unwelcome sexual flirtations or propositions
• Sexual slurs, leering, epithets, threats,
  degrading descriptions
• Sexual jokes, pictures, notes, gestures
• Unwanted touching
• Graphic verbal comments about a persons body, or
  overly personal conversation
• Spreading sexual rumors
• Blocking normal movement
• An act of retaliation for reporting sexual
  harassment

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Statistics on Sexual Harassment in School

• 8 in 10 students (81 percent) say they have
  experienced some form of sexual harassment in
  school
• 2 in 3 students have been targets of sexual
  comments, touching, grabbing or pinching in a
  sexual way at school
• More than one-third (35 percent) of students who
  experience harassment report their first
  occurrence in 6th grade or earlier

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Statistics on Sexual Harassment in School

• 10th- and 11th- graders are more likely than 8th-
  and 9th- graders to experience physical
  harassment
• Slightly more than half (54 percent) of students
  said they have sexually harassed someone during
  their school lives
• Students who experience sexual harassment are
  most likely to react by avoiding the person who
  bothered or harassed them (40 percent), talking
  less in class (24 percent), not wanting to go to
  school (22 percent), changing their seat in class
  to get farther away from someone (21 percent),
  and finding it hard to pay attention in school
  (20 percent)

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Statistics on Sexual Harassment in School

• Boys are more than twice as likely to say they
  have often or occasionally been called gay
• 7 of students have been harassed by teachers,
  with boys and girls equally likely to have this
  experience
• Not even half (40 percent) of students say they
  would be likely to complaint to a school adult if
  they were sexually harassed. Girls are twice as
  likely than boys
• 20 of harassed students say they told no one,
  boys are more likely than girls to tell no one
• from Hostile Hallways Bullying, Teasing, and
  Sexual Harassment in School (Commissioned by the
  American Association of University Womens (AAUW)
  Educational Foundation), 2001.

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Why Harassment Is Not Reported

• Embarrassment
• Belief that the behavior will end if ignored
• Fear of losing job or status
• Fear of retaliation
• Fear of being blamed for inviting the harassment
• Concern about not being believed
• Concern about being labeled a troublemaker
• Fear of harmful rumors and loss of privacy
• Conviction that nothing will be done about the
  problem
• Fear that the complaint process could be worse
  than the harassment

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Psychological Effects of Sexual Harassment

• On the victim shame, fear, humiliation,
  self-doubt, embarrassment, guilt, stress,
  powerlessness, withdrawal, isolation, degradation
• On the Work or Learning Unit morale problems,
  tarnished reputations, decreased trust,
  confusion, shock
• On the Institution lowered morale, public
  relations problems, loss of trust, hostile
  employee/student relations, polarization of men
  and women, anger toward institution, diminished
  reputation of institution, recruitment
  difficulties

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Economic Effects of Sexual Harassment

• On the victim loss of job, job search expenses,
  loss of seniority, loss of references, medical
  expenses, increased absenteeism, reduced
  productivity
• On the work or learning unit reduced
  productivity, increased work load, supervisors
  performance review potentially affected,
  potential turnover costs for recruiting and
  training, safety can be jeopardized
• On the institution legal expenses, cash
  settlements, reduced productivity, increase in
  use of benefits

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What Victims of Sexual Harassment Can Do to Stop
It

• Tell the offender that the conduct is unwelcome
  and must stop.
• Adopt a formal approach.
• Refuse to answer personal questions.
• Place a copy of the schools sexual harassment
  policy on the offenders desk or in his mailbox.
• Send the harasser a letter that
• Provides a factual account of what happened.
• Describe how the incident(s) made you feel.
• Explain what you want to happen next.
• Deliver the letter in person or mail it.
• Keep a copy.

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Personal Behavior Checklist

• Maintaining harassment-free schools and campuses
  is critical for encouraging
• An open learning environment
• Productive and happy employees
• Good relationships between students and employees
  of both genders
• Use the following checklist to consider your own
  behavior
• Does this behavior contribute to getting our
  goals accomplished?
• Could this behavior hurt my fellow employees or
  other students if they were here?
• Could this behavior be interpreted as harmful or
  harassing by an outsider?
• Could this behavior be sending out signals that
  invite harassing behavior on the part or others?

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Sexual Harassment

• Sexual harassment is prohibited regardless of the
  sex of the harasser or the victim, i.e., sexual
  harassment may occur if the harasser and the
  victim are of the same sex.
• For Title IX to apply, the discrimination must be
  based on sex, even where the harasser and victim
  are he same sex.

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Section 504 of theRehabilitation Act of 1973

• Prohibits discrimination against disabled
• Individuals
• Serves as comprehensive component of civil
• rights legislation
• Applies to all agencies that receive federal
• funding
• Incorporates broad definition of disability

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Section 504 states

• No otherwise qualified individual with a
• disabilityshall solely by reason of his or
• her disability, be excluded from the
• participation in, be denied benefits of or be
• subjected to discrimination under any
• program or activity receiving federal financial
  assistance.

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Definition of a Disability UnderSection 504

• 1) Has a physical or mental impairment
• which substantially limits one or more of
• such persons major life activities (self-care,
• walking, seeing, learning, breathing, speaking,
• working)
• 2) Has a record of such an impairment
• 3) Is regarded as having such an impairment

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Section 504 requires

• Disabled students have an equal opportunity to
  compete when compared to their non-disabled
  peers. Requires that no qualified disabled person
  shall be discriminated against or be excluded
  from participation in any activity.
• Reasonable accommodations and/or modifications
  must be made to provide access to programs and
  facilities.

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School DistrictsResponsibilities Include

• 1) Naming a 504 coordinator
• 2) Providing training for ALL employees
• annually on Section 504
• 3) Locating and identifying all children with
• disabilities who should be served
• 4) Providing a free, appropriate public education
• 5) Providing children with disabilities an equal
• opportunity to participate in nonacademic
• and extracurricular services and activities

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Bullying/Intimidation

• School Board policy defines bullying and
  intimidation as either physically harming a
  student or damaging his/her property, or
  knowingly placing the student in reasonable fear
  of such, or creating a hostile educational
  environment.

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Bullying Can Take Many Forms

• Physical violence
• Verbal taunts, name-calling, and put-downs
• Threats and intimidation
• Physical violence
• Extortion or stealing money and/or possessions
• Spreading rumors
• Harassment via technology (email, text messaging,
  etc.)

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Warning Signs of Being Bullied

• Is quiet, sensitive, shy
• Appears anxious or insecure
• Appears unhappy, depressed, tearful
• Cuts, bruises, scratches
• Headaches, stomachaches
• Damaged/missing possessions
• Has few friends
• Is alone or excluded from friends or peers during
  break
• Tries to stay close to the teacher or other
  adults
• Has difficulty speaking up
• Shows a deterioration of school work

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Warning Signs of Bullying Others

• Teases, intimidates, threatens, ridicules other
• students
• Is hot tempered and impulsive
• Has a hard time following rules
• Is oppositional, defiant or aggressive towards
  adults
• Shows little or no empathy
• Are concerned with their own desires rather than
  those of others
• Find it difficult to see things from someone
  elses perspective
• Are willing to use others to get what they want

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Common Characteristics Among Youth Who Are Bullied

• These children often stand out as different in
  some way because of
• - Appearance
• - Sexual orientation
• - Intellect
• - Socio-economic background
• - Cultural or religious background

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Cyber Bullying

• Cyber bullying is using the internet and other
• technology to bully students.
• Email, instant messaging, online diaries, picture
  cell
• phones, web logs or blogs make it easier and
  quicker
• for students to make threats, pass on rumors or
• ostracize their peers.
• Cyber bullying is no different then bullying in
  person
• students who are victims still suffer from the
  same risks
• as those being bullied in person.

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Classroom Interventions

• Establish class rules against bullying
• Reinforcement of rules through positive
• consequences and sanctions
• School systems health educator can provide
  several anti-bullying resources

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Reporting Procedures

• Any person who believes he/she has been the
  victim of discrimination/harassment by a school
  system employee, another adult on school grounds
  or at school functions, another student, or any
  third person with knowledge of discrimination/hara
  ssment should report the alleged acts immediately
  to an appropriate school system official as
  designated by policy.
• The school principal is the person responsible
  for receiving reports at the school level. The
  principal notifies the assistant director of
  schools immediately without screening or
  investigating the report. A written report is
  also forwarded to the director.
• If the complaint involves the school principal,
  the complaint shall be filed directly with the
  director of schools.
• The Title IX coordinator is to receive complaints
  of sexual discrimination.
• The pupil personnel supervisor receives the
  complaints of non-sexual discrimination
• The name of the Title IX coordinator and the
  pupil personnel supervisor, including a mailing
  address and telephone number shall be posted.
• Refer to school board policies 6.304 and 6.305
  for additional information.

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Reporting Procedures Continued

• Any complaints should be reported to the
  employees immediate supervisor. If that person
  is involved, then it should be reported to the
  next level of supervision.
• Any staff member who is subject to, or knows of,
  such harassment is directed to notify the
  building principal or the Assistant Director of
  Schools immediately. If the complaint is not
  satisfactorily settled, the employee may file a
  complaint directly with the Tennessee Department
  of Labor, Civil Rights Division or with the U.S.
  Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity
  Commission. Such complaints may also be filed
  with the appropriate enforcement agency, in lieu
  of the districts complaint process, at any time,
  as provided by law.

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Sources

• Tennessee Code Annotated
• http//www.state.tn.us/environment/permits/tcalink
  .shtml
• Loudon County Board of Education Policy
• http//www.loudoncounty.org
• Tennessee School Board Association
• http//www.tsba.net/
• U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil
  Rights, Sexual Harassment Its Not Academic,
  Washington, D.C., 2008.
• http//www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/
• Thompson Publishing Group, Educators Guide to
  Controlling Sexual Harassment, 2002.
• National Crime Prevention Council, 2006.
• http//www.ncpc.org/
• Tennessee Department of Labor, Civil Rights
  Division
• U.S. Department of Labor, Equal Employment
  Opportunity Commission
• Tennessee Human Rights Commission
• www.tn.gov/humanrights

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Acknowledgement of Completion Harassment
Training viewed online _at_ www.loudoncounty.org
Training is to be completed by September
15th School Year ______Supervisor is to return
this form annually to Alison Millsaps by
September 30th. Training records are to be
maintained for 3 years. School/Department
_________________________________________________N
umber of Pages ______________