7.6 Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment Link to this section

The Governing Board is committed to maintaining a safe school environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of the Civil Rights Act of 1972 and is prohibited by both federal and state laws. The Board prohibits sexual harassment of students by other students, employees or other persons, at school or at school-sponsored or school-related activities. The United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights has defined sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including:

Quid pro quo harassment- An employee, agent, or other person authorized by the District to provide an aid, benefit, or service under the recipient’s education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditioning a provision of such aid, benefit, or service on a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct;
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 recipient’s education program or activity (ie: creates a hostile environment).
Specific offenses including: Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking

Examples of sexual harassment include:

Unwanted physical contact with a person’s private body parts, including contact that is done “as a joke”
Unwanted comments of a sexual nature, including sexual jokes
Unwanted comments about a person’s body, including “catcalling”
Coercion to engage in sexual activity
Spreading information or rumors about a person’s sexual experience
Sharing images or videos of a person’s private body parts and/or of sexual acts without all parties’ consent

The Board also prohibits harassment, intimidation, threatening, or other retaliatory behavior or action against any person who reports, files a complaint, or testifies about, or otherwise supports a complainant in alleging sexual harassment.

i. Definitions

Complainant: A student, employee, or any individual who was participating in or attempting to participate in the District’s education program or activity at the time the alleged sexual discrimination took place.
Respondent: An individual who has been reported to have performed conduct that could constitute sexual harassment.
Complaint: An oral or written request to the District that objectively can be understood as a request for the District to investigate and make a determination about the alleged sex discrimination.
Sexual Assault: A sexual act directed against another person done without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent. Sexual assault includes the following conduct:
Rape: The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without consent of the victim.
Fondling: The touching of private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without consent of the victim.
Incest: Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law
Statutory Rape: Sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.
Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.
Domestic Violence: A crime of violence committed by a person who is:
A current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim;
A person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
A person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
A person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws where the violence occurred; or
By any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from the person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws where the violence occurred.
Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a response person to fear for the persons safety/the safety of others, or suffer substantial emotional distress
Consent: The agreement by both parties to engage in sexual conduct or activity. Consent is informed, knowing, and voluntary and can be communicated through clear words or actions. Consent cannot be obtained through the use of physical force, threats, intimidating behavior, or coercion. Consent cannot be given by someone who is known, or should have been known to be, mentally, or physically incapacitated.
Education Program or Activity: Locations, events, or circumstances over which the District has exercised substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurred.
Supportive Measures: Non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered to the complainants or the respondent.

ii. Instruction/Information

The District s committed to taking steps to prevent sexual harassment within its educational program or activities by providing age-appropriate instruction about topics such as healthy relationships, boundaries, consent, sexual harassment, and Title IX. Schools will make available to students information about: how to identify and report sexual harassment; the District procedures for responding to sexual harassment; and students’ rights under Title IX. Such instruction and information shall include:

What acts and behavior constitute sexual harassment, including the fact that sexual harassment could occur between people of the same sex and could involve sexual violence;
A clear message that students do not have to endure sexual harassment under any circumstance;
Encouragement to report observed incidents of sexual harassment even where the alleged victim of the harassment has not complained;
A clear message that student safety is the District's primary concern, and that any separate rule violation involving an alleged victim or any other person reporting a sexual harassment incident will be addressed separately and will not affect the manner in which the sexual harassment complaint will be received, investigated or resolved;
Information about the District's procedure for investigating complaints and the person(s) to whom a report of sexual harassment should be made;
Information about the rights of students and parents/guardians to file a civil or criminal complaint, as applicable.

iii. Response to Report of Sexual Harassment

The District strongly encourages all students who are witness or victim to sexual harassment to report it to their school’s Administration team. Any District employee who receives a report or observes an incident of sexual harassment shall notify the principal or the District Title IX Coordinator.

Eva Kellogg

Office of Equity / Title IX Coordinator

555 Franklin St

San Francisco, CA

equity@sfusd.edu

All reports of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and responded to promptly. Upon receiving a report of sex discrimination or sexual harassment, the District Title IX Coordinator or their representative will inform the victim of their rights under Title IX, the steps that will be taken to investigate the allegations and address the issues they raise, and the availability of supportive measures.

In the event that a complaint is made alleging that sexual harassment or sex discrimination has occurred, the following procedures will apply:

Notice to all parties of the allegations and that an investigation will occur
The right of the Respondent to be considered “not responsible” for violating Title IX or Board Policy until the investigation concludes and a determination is made
The right of all parties to equally present and inspect relevant evidence
Written notice of the outcome of the investigation and the District’s determination regarding whether it is more likely than not that Title IX or any board policy was violated

Additionally, all those who are party to a report of sexual harassment are entitled to supportive measures that retain or preserve their access to the educational program or activity. Supportive measures are non-punitive, non-disciplinary individualized services such as, but not limited to:

Safety plans
Wellness services
Academic accommodations
Scheduling adjustments
Referrals to community resources

District employees who have reasonable suspicion of child abuse, including sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and/or sexual assault, are mandated to immediately report that suspicion pursuant to Penal Code 11165.7 and Board Policy 5141.4. A report shall be made regardless of the identity of the accused person, including reports in which the accused person is a District employee, student or third party.

**Changes to the Federal Title IX Regulations go into effect on August 1, 2024. Incidents of sexual harassment that occurred prior to August 1, 2024 will be resolved in accordance with the 2020 Federal Title IX Regulations and aligned District procedures. Incidents that occur on or after August 1, 2024 will be resolved by the 2024 regulations and District procedures, which will be amended on the basis of these new regulations. When the District’s policy is updated to comply with Federal Law, a Notice will be shared and the District’s website and online Handbook will be updated. Please speak to your school’s Administration team or the District Title IX Coordinator for more information.

This page was last updated on July 24, 2024