No person, including a School District employee or agent, or student, shall harass, intimidate, or bully a student on the basis of actual or perceived: race; color; national origin; military status; unfavorable discharge status from military service; sex; sexual orientation; gender identity; gender-related identity or expression; ancestry; age; religion; physical or mental disability; order of protection status; status of being homeless; actual or potential marital or parental status, including pregnancy; association with a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual or perceived characteristics; or any other distinguishing characteristic. The District will not tolerate harassing, intimidating conduct, or bullying whether verbal, physical, sexual, or visual, that affects the tangible benefits of education, that unreasonably interferes with a student’s educational performance, or that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment.

Sexual Harassment Prohibited

The District shall provide an educational environment free of verbal, physical, or other conduct or communications constituting harassment on the basis of sex as defined and otherwise prohibited by State and federal law. See policies 7265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure, and 7260, Uniform Grievance Procedure.

Making a Report or Complaint

Students are encouraged to promptly report claims or incidences of bullying, intimidation, harassment, sexual harassment, or any other prohibited conduct to the Nondiscrimination Coordinator, Complaint Manager as listed in policy 7260 Uniform Grievance Procedure, building principal, associate principal, dean, social worker, or any staff member with whom the student is comfortable.  Students may choose to report to a person of the student’s same gender.

An allegation that one student was sexually harassed by another student shall be referred to the building principal, associate principal, dean, building assistant, or any staff member with whom the student is comfortable for appropriate action.

Reports under this policy will be considered a report under Board policy 7260, Uniform Grievance Procedure, and/or Board policy 7265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure. The Nondiscrimination Coordinator and/or Complaint Manager shall process and review the report according to the appropriate grievance procedure. The Superintendent shall insert into this policy the names, office addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of the District’s current Nondiscrimination Coordinator and Complaint Managers. The Nondiscrimination Coordinator also serves as the District’s Title IX Coordinator.

Nondiscrimination Coordinator:

Dr. William Schmidt

7925 Janes Avenue, Woodridge, Illinois 60517

630-795-6800

schmidtw@woodridge68.org

Complaint Managers:

Dr. Anne Bowers

• 630-795-6830
• bowersa@woodridge68.org

Dr. William Schmidt

• 630-795-6800
• schmidtw@woodridge68.org

7925 Janes Avenue, Woodridge, Illinois 60517

The Superintendent shall use reasonable measures to inform staff members and students of this policy, such as, by including it in the appropriate handbooks, and on the District’s website.

Investigation Process

Any District employee who receives a report or complaint of harassment must promptly forward the report or complaint to the Nondiscrimination Coordinator or a Complaint Manager. An employee who fails to promptly comply may be disciplined, up to and including discharge.

Reports and complaints of harassment will be confidential to the greatest extent practicable, subject to the District’s duty to investigate and maintain an educational environment that is productive, respectful, and free of unlawful discrimination, including harassment.

For any report or complaint alleging sexual harassment that, if true, would implicate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.), the Nondiscrimination Coordinator or designee shall consider whether action under policy 7265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure, should be initiated.

For any other alleged student harassment that does not require action under policy 7265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure, the Nondiscrimination Coordinator or a Complaint Manager or designee shall consider whether an investigation under policies 7260, Uniform Grievance Procedure, and/or 5365, Student Behavior, should be initiated, regardless of whether a written report or complaint is filed.

Reports That Involve Alleged Incidents of Sexual Abuse

An alleged incident of sexual abuse is an incident of sexual abuse of a child, as defined in 720 ILCS 5/11-9.1A(b), that is alleged to have been perpetrated by school personnel, including a school vendor or volunteer, that occurred: on school grounds during a school activity; or outside of school grounds or not during a school activity.

Any complaint alleging an incident of sexual abuse shall be processed and reviewed according to policy 4060, Abused and Neglected Child Reporting. Inn addition to reporting the suspected abuse, the complaint shall also be processed under policy 7265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure, or policy 7260, Uniform Grievance Procedure.

Enforcement

Any District employee who is determined, after an investigation, to have engaged in conduct prohibited by this policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge. Any third party who is determined, after an investigation, to have engaged in conduct prohibited by this policy will be addressed in accordance with the authority of the Board in the context of the relationship of the third party to the District, e.g., vendor, parent, invitee etc. Any District student who is determined, after an investigation, to have engaged in conduct prohibited by this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, including but not limited to, suspension and expulsion consistent with the discipline policy. Any person making a knowingly false accusation regarding prohibited conduct will likewise be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge, with regard to employees, or suspension and expulsion, with regard to students.

Retaliation Prohibited

Retaliation against any person for bringing complaints or providing information about harassment is prohibited (see policies 7260, Uniform Grievance Procedure, and 7265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure).

Students should report allegations of retaliation to the Building Principal, an administrator, the Nondiscrimination Coordinator, and/or a Complaint Manager.