All Personnel – Sexual Harassment

San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education

Board Policy 4034

All Personnel – Sexual Harassment

 

This Board Policy applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.

The following policy shall apply to all District employees, interns, volunteers, contractors, job applicants, and other persons with an employment relationship with the District. The Governing Board is committed to providing a safe work environment that is free of harassment and intimidation. The Board prohibits sexual harassment against District employees and retaliatory behavior or action against any person who reports, files a complaint or testifies about, or otherwise supports a Complainant in alleging sexual harassment.

Additionally, the Board prohibits retaliatory behavior or action against any person who complains or testifies about conduct that reasonably may constitute sexual harassment or sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment, reports of such conduct, or otherwise participates or refuses to participate in the complaint process established for purposes of this policy.  (Education Code 220.1; 34 CFR 106.71 (2020 version). Retaliation includes threats, intimidation, reprisals, and/or adverse actions related to employment or education. 

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discriminaton and means sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of one, or a combination of two or more protected characteristics, which include but may not be limited to, sex; gender; gender identity; gender expresson; sexual orientation; sex stereotypes; pregnancy, false pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions or recovery; reproductive health decision-making; breastfeeding or related medical conditions; and parental, marital, and family status. 

Sexual harassment is prohibited by both federal and state laws. The United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights has defined sexual harassment as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it effectively denies a person equal access to the District’s education program and activity. Sexual harassment also includes conduct where a student access to District aid, benefit, or services are conditioned on the students participation in unwelcome sexual conduct, or incidents of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.” This policy refers only to sexually harassing conduct that would violate Title IX.  All other allegations of sexual harassment or sex discrimination will be addressed under Board Policy 4030 – Nondiscrimination in Employment, or other applicable policies. 

 

Conduct is considered Prohibited sexual harassment when made against another person of the same or any other sex in the work or educational setting under any of the following conditions:

1. Submission to the conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of the individual’s employment.
2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by the individual is used as the basis for any employment decision affecting him/her.
3. The conduct affects a person’s employment or interferes with a person’s work performance.
4. The conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an environment that a reasonable person would find intimidating, hostile, or offensive. Regardless of whether or not the alleged harasser was motivated by sexual desire, the conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive, or objectively offensive to create a hostile or abusive working environment or to limit the individual’s ability to participate in or benefit from an education program or activity.

Sexual harassment includes sexual violence which is defined as follows: physical sexual acts engaged without the consent of the other person or when the other person is unable to consent to the activity. Sexual violence includes sexual assault, fondling, rape, battery, or coercion; domestic violence; dating violence; and stalking.

Sexual harassment may be committed by a supervisor, a co-worker, or a non-employee and may occur between individuals of any gender. Sexual harassment may occur in person, through the use of telephonic, electronic or other means of communication or through visual or other representations or media. The District may consider conduct to be a violation of this or another District policy even if it falls short of unlawful harassment under applicable law.

Examples of sexual harassment include, but are not limited to:

1. Unwelcome verbal conduct such as sexual flirtations or propositions; graphic comments about an individual’s body; overly personal conversations or pressure for sexual activity; sexual jokes or stories; sexual slurs, epithets, threats, innuendoes, derogatory comments, sexually degrading descriptions, or the spreading of sexual rumors;
2. Unwelcome visual conduct such as drawings, pictures, graffiti, or gestures; sexually explicit emails; displaying sexually suggestive objects; and
3. Unwelcome physical conduct such as massaging, grabbing, fondling, stroking, or brushing the body; touching an individual’s body or clothes in a sexual way; cornering, blocking, leaning over, or impeding normal movements.​​​​​​

 

Formal Complaint Procedure

District employees who feel that they have been sexually harassed while performing their District responsibilities or who have knowledge of any incident of sexual harassment by or against another employee, student, or third party in a District program or activity, shall immediately report the incident to their direct supervisor, a District administrator, or the District’s Title IX Coordinator.

Any student or employee targeted by sexually harassing conduct may file a formal Title IX Complaint with the District’s Title IX Coordinator.  Formal complaints must be written, signed, and submitted to the Title IX Coordinator.  

Any supervisor or administrator who receives a harassment report or formal complaint shall promptly notify the Title IX Coordinator.

Upon receipt of any report or complaint of sexual harassment, the Title IX Coordinator shall ensure supportive measures are offered to the complainant and respondent, as deemed appropriate under the circumstances.

Upon receipt of any formal complaint that meets the federal criteria for a Title IX violation, the District will conduct an investigation into the allegations and render a determination with regard to those allegations in compliance with this Board Policy and with the procedures detailed in AR 4034 – Title IX Sexual Harassment Employee Complaint Procedure. If a complaint is determined not to meet the required criteria, it will be investigated under AR 4030- Nondiscrimination in Employment, or other applicable policies or regulations. 

A party may appeal the final determination or dismissal of a complaint on the bases outlined in AR 4034.

Upon investigation of a sexual harassment complaint, any District employee found to have engaged in sexual harassment or to have aided, abetted, incited, compelled, or coerced another to commit sexual harassment in violation of this policy shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, in accordance with law and the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Training and Prevention

The Superintendent or designee shall take all actions necessary to ensure the prevention, investigation, and correction of sexual harassment, including but not limited to:

1. Providing training to employees in accordance with law and administrative regulation
2. Publicizing and disseminating the district’s sexual harassment policy to employees and others to whom the policy may apply
3. Publicize required notifications relating to Title IX in employment to employees, applicants for employment, and bargaining units. 
4. Ensuring prompt, thorough, fair, and equitable investigation of complaints through the appropriate state and/or federal procedures.
5. Taking timely and appropriate corrective/remedial action(s), which may require interim separation of the complainant and the alleged harasser and subsequent monitoring of developments.

The Superintendent or designee shall periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the district’s strategies to prevent and address harassment. As necessary, changes shall be made to the harassment policy, complaint procedures, or training,  as appropriate and in accordance with the law. 

Every two years, the Superintendent or designee shall ensure that supervisory employees receive at least two hours, and nonsupervisory employees receive at least one hour, of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment. All newly hired employees and employees promoted to a supervisory position shall receive training within six months of their assumption of the new position. (Government Code 12950.1) A supervisory employee is an employee having the authority, in the interest of the district, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or the responsibility to direct them, adjust their grievances, or effectively recommend such action, when the exercise of the authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgement. (Government Code 12926) Such training may be completed by employees individually or as part of a group presentation, may be completed in shorter segments as long as the applicable hourly requirement is met, and may be provided in conjunction with other training provided to the employees. The training shall be presented by trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. (Government Code 12950.1)

The District’s sexual harassment training and education program shall include all elements as required by state law and outlined fully in AR 4034.

The Superintendent or designee shall retain for at least two years the records of any trainings provided to supervisory employees. Such records shall include the names of trained employees, date of the training, the type of training, and the name of the training provider. (2 CCR 11024).

Notifications

The Superintendent or designee shall notify employees, as required by Title IX, that the district does not discriminate on the basis of sex that the Title IX nondiscrimination requirement extends to employment, and that inquiries about the application of Title IX to the District may be referred to the District’s Title IX Coordinator and/or to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education. (34 CFR 106.8)

The district shall notify employees, bargaining units, and applicants for employment of the name or title, office address, email address, and telephone number of the District’s Title IX Coordinator. (24 CFR 106.8)

A copy of this Board policy and Administrative Regulation 4034 shall:

1. Be displayed in a prominent location in the main administrative building, district office, or other area of the school where notices of district rules, regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct are posted (Education Code 231.5)
2. Be provided to every district employee at the beginning of the first quarter or semester of the school year or whenever a new employee is hired (Education Code 231.5)
3. Appear in any school or district publication that sets forth the school’s or district’s comprehensive rules, regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct (Education Code 231.5)
4. Be posted, along with the name or title and contact information of the Title IX Coordinator, in a prominent location on the District’s web site (34 CFR 106.8)
5. Be included, along with the name or title and contact information of the Title IX Coordinator, in any handbook provided to employees or employee organizations (34 CFR 106.8)

All employees shall receive a copy of an information sheet prepared by the California Civil Rights (“CRD”) Department or the district that contains, at a minimum, components on: (Government Code 12950)

1. The illegality of sexual harassment
2. The definition of sexual harassment under applicable state and federal law
3. A description of sexual harassment examples
4. The district’s complaint process available to the employee
5. The legal remedies and complaint process available through the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 
6. Directions on how to contact CRD and the EEOC
7. The protection against retaliation provided by 2 CCR 11021 for opposing harassment prohibited by law or for filing a complaint with or otherwise participating in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing conducted by CRD and the EEOC

In addition, the District shall post, in a prominent and accessible location, the CRD poster on discrimination in employment and the illegality of sexual harassment and the DFEH poster regarding transgender rights (Government Code 12950)

(cf. 0410 – Nondiscrimination in District Programs and Activities)
(cf. 4030 – Nondiscrimination in Employment)
(cf. 4119.12/4219.12/4319.12 – Title IX Sexual Harassment Complaints)

(cf. 4117.7/4317.7 – Employment Status Reports)

(cf. 4118 – Dismissal/Suspension/Disciplinary Action)

(cf. 4218 – Dismissal/Suspension/Disciplinary Action)

(cf. 4118 – Dismissal/Suspension/Disciplinary Action)
(cf. 4218 – Dismissal/Suspension/Disciplinary Action)

Legal Reference:

EDUCATION CODE

200-262.4   Educational Equity

GOVERNMENT CODE

12900-12996   Fair Employment and Housing Act, especially:

12940   Prohibited discrimination

12950   Sexual harassment; distribution of information

12950.1   Sexual harassment training

LABOR CODE

1101   Political activities of employees

CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 2

11009   Employment discrimination

11021   Retaliation

11023   Harassment and discrimination prevention and correction

11024   Sexual harassment training and education

11034   Terms, conditions, and privileges of employment

CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5

4900-4965   Nondiscrimination in elementary and secondary education programs

UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20

1681-1688   Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 42

2000e-2000e-17 Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended

CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, TITLE 34

106.1-106.9   Nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities

106.51-106.82   Nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in employment in education programs or activities

COURT DECISIONS

Department of Health Services v. Superior Court of California, (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1026

Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, (1998) 118 S.Ct. 2275

Burlington Industries v. Ellreth, (1998) 118 S.Ct. 2257

Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, (1998) 118 S.Ct. 1989

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Serv. Inc., (1998) 118 S.Ct. 998

Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson et al., (1986) 447 U.S. 57

Management Resources:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Dear Colleague Letter Regarding Title IX Enforcement  February 4, 2025  

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PUBLICATIONS

Promising Practices for Preventing Harassment, November 2017

WEB SITES

California Civil Rights Department: https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html