Jt. Jerome School District No. 261

STUDENTS 3085

Sexual Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation Policy

Policy Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to promote working and learning environments that are free from sex and gender-

based harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and to affirm Jerome Jt. School District’s commitment to non-

discrimination, equity in education and equal opportunity for employment.

Scope of Policy

This policy applies to all members of Jerome Jt. School District’s community, including students, employees, and

other members of the public including guests, visitors, volunteers, and invitees.

Policy Statement Jerome Jt. School District is committed to providing a workplace and educational environment, as well as other benefits, programs, and activities, that are free from sex and gender-based harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Accordingly, the District prohibits harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and pregnancy, as well as retaliation against individuals who report

allegations of sex and gender-based harassment and discrimination, file a formal complaint, or participate in a

grievance process.

Students, employees, or other members of the District community who believe that they have been subjected to

sex or gender-based harassment, discrimination, or retaliation should report the incident to the Title IX

Coordinator, who will provide information about supportive measures and the applicable grievance process(es).

Violations of this policy may result in discipline for both students and [District] employees.

Title IX Coordinator

The Jerome School District Federal Programs Director serves as Jerome Jt. School District’s Title IX Coordinator and oversees implementation of this policy. The Title IX Coordinator has the primary responsibility for coordinating the District’s efforts related to the intake, investigation, resolution, and implementation of supportive measures to

stop, remediate, and prevent sex and gender-based harassment, discrimination, and retaliation prohibited under

this policy. The Title IX Coordinator acts with independence and authority and is free from bias and conflicts of

interest.

To raise any concern involving bias, conflict of interest, misconduct or discrimination committed by the Title IX

Coordinator, contact the Jerome School District Federal Programs Director at Jerome School District.

If the District’s Title IX Coordinator is the subject of any complaint regarding sex or gender-based harassment or

has an apparent bias or conflict of interest regarding such a case, another person shall be appointed to act as the

Title IX Coordinator for handling that case. Such appointees may include, but are not limited to:

1. The Title IX Coordinator of another school district which the District has an agreement with;

2. Another employee of the District who is qualified and trained to address the matter, such as a deputy

Title IX Coordinator;

3. A qualified and trained individual who enters into a professional services contract with the District;

including but not limited to the District’s legal counsel and/or contracted Human Resources or Title IX

professionals.

Concerns of bias, conflict of interest, misconduct, or discrimination committed by any other official involved in the

implementation of this policy or related grievance processes should be raised with the Title IX Coordinator.

Mandatory Reporters

Jerome Jt. School District has classified all employees as mandatory reporters of any knowledge they have that a

member of the District community experienced sex or gender-based harassment, discrimination, and/or

retaliation. Accordingly, all District employees must promptly report actual or suspected sex and gender-based

harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation to the Title IX Coordinator. District employees must share with the

Title IX Coordinator all known details of a report made to them in the course of their employment, as well as all

details of behaviors under this policy that they observe or have knowledge of. Failure of a District employee to

report an incident of sex or gender-based harassment, discrimination, or retaliation to the Title IX Coordinator of

which they become aware is a violation of this policy and can be subject to disciplinary action for failure to comply.

In addition, District employees must also report allegations of suspected child abuse and/or neglect to either law

enforcement or the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare as described in Policy 5260.

Contact Information

Complaints or notice of alleged policy violations, or inquiries about or concerns regarding this policy and related

procedures, may be made internally to Jerome Jt. School District’s Title IX Coordinator using the contact

information below: Jerome School District Federal Programs Director, 125 4th Avenue West, Jerome, Idaho 83338;

208-324-2392; www.jeromeschools.org.

External inquiries can be made to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region 10, using the

contact information: Seattle Office, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 915 Second Avenue,

#3310, Seattle, WA 98174-1099, OCR.Seattle@ed.gov, 1-800-877-8339.

Notice/Formal Complaints of Sex and Gender-Based Harassment, Discrimination, and/or Retaliation

Notice or formal complaints of sex or gender-based harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation may be made

using any of the following options:

1. File a complaint with, or give verbal notice to, the Title IX Coordinator (or deputy/deputies, if applicable). Such a report may be made at any time, including during non-business hours, by using the telephone number, email address, or by mail to the office address listed for the Title IX Coordinator (or any other official as listed above).

2. Report online, using the reporting form posted at www.jeromeschools.org

3. Report by phone at 208-324-2392.

When notice is received regarding conduct that may constitute Title IX sexual harassment, Jerome Jt. School

District #261 shall provide information about supportive measures and how to file a formal complaint, as described

in Policy 3085P Title IX Procedures.

A formal complaint means a document filed/signed by the alleged victim or signed by the Title IX Coordinator

alleging an individual violated this policy and requesting that the District investigate the allegation(s). As used in

this paragraph, the phrase “document filed/signed by the alleged victim” means a document or electronic

submission (such as by electronic mail or through an online portal provided for this purpose by the District, if

applicable) that contains the alleged victim’s physical or digital signature, or otherwise indicates that the alleged

victim is the person filing the complaint. For example, an alleged victim may send an email to the Title IX

Coordinator, identify themself as the alleged victim and the one sending the email, to file a formal complaint. If

notice is submitted in a form that does not meet this standard, the Title IX Coordinator will contact the alleged

victim to ensure that it is filed correctly.

Parents and legal guardians of primary and secondary school students who have the legal authority to act on their

child’s behalf may file a formal complaint on behalf of their child.

Grievance Processes

When a formal complaint is made alleging that this policy was violated, the allegations are subject to resolution

using one of Jerome Jt. School District’s grievance processes noted below, as determined by the Title IX

Coordinator. All processes provide for a prompt, fair, and impartial process.

1. For formal complaints regarding conduct that may constitute Title IX sexual harassment involving students or employees, the District will implement procedures detailed in Procedure 3085P.

2. For formal complaints regarding sex and gender-based harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation

where students are the accused party, and that do not constitute Title IX sexual harassment, the District will implement procedures described in: Student Code of Conduct, Uniform Grievance Procedure if no adjudication procedures are included in the Student Code of Conduct, General Bullying, Harassment and Intimidation procedures, Relationship Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response procedures.

3. For formal complaints regarding sex and gender-based harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation

where employees are the accused party, and that do not constitute Title IX sexual harassment, the District will implement procedures described in: Uniform Grievance Procedure, Certificated/Non- certificated Staff Grievance Procedure.

Cross References: 3270 Student Records

3270P Student Records

3285 Relationship Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

3290 Sexual Harassment/Intimidation of Students

3295 Hazing, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Cyber Bullying

3295P Hazing, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Cyber Bullying

3330 Student Discipline

4120 Uniform Grievance Procedure

4600 Volunteer Assistance

4600P Volunteer Assistance

5240 Sexual Harassment/Sexual Intimidation in the Workplace

5250 Certificated Staff Grievances

5275 Adult Sexual Misconduct

5500 Personnel Records

5500P Procedures for Releasing Personnel Records to Hiring School Districts

5800 Classified Employment, Assignment, and Grievance

5800P Classified Employee Grievance Procedure

Legal References: 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 - 1682 Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

34 CFR Part 106 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education

Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial

Assistance

Policy History:

Adopted on: 09/22/2020

Review: 06/28/2022