Non-Discrimination

The Board's policy of nondiscrimination extends to students, staff, job applicants, the general public and individuals with whom it does business and applies to race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, religion, sex, economic status, age, disability or military status.

The Board does not discriminate on the basis of legally acquired genetic information.

The Board does not permit discriminatory practices and views harassment as a form of discrimination. Harassment is defined more fully below.

Employees or students who engage in discrimination and/or harassment (referred to as "discrimination/harassment" in this Policy) of another employee or student shall be subject to disciplinary action.

Permission, consent or assumption of risk by an individual subjected to discrimination/harassment does not lessen the prohibition contained in this policy.

No one shall retaliate against an employee or student because he/she files a complaint; assists or participates in an investigation, proceeding or hearing regarding the charge of discrimination/harassment of an individual; or because he/she has opposed language or conduct that violates this policy.

Harassment

The Board is committed to the creation and maintenance of a learning and working environment in which all persons who participate in school programs and activities can do so in an atmosphere free from all forms of prohibited harassment. Harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, religion, disability, age or sex is prohibited on school grounds and at all school functions.

Prohibited harassment includes, by way of example, slurs, unwelcome sexual advances and requests for sexual favors, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, solicitation of sexual activity or reference to sexual themes in a manner which the offender knows or should know is offensive to the listener or observer, or other verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct on one or more of the bases stated above. Prohibited harassment will not be tolerated by students or staff towards other students or staff.

Prohibited Harassment of Students

Prohibited harassment is conduct arising out of or related to the race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, religion, disability, age or sex of the student when:

• Submission to or rejection of such conduct by a student is used as the basis for educational judgments or conditions affecting the student; or
• Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a student's curricular, co-curricular or extracurricular performance; creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive educational environment; or otherwise adversely and unreasonably impacting upon a student's educational opportunities.

Harassment of Employees

Prohibited harassment is conduct arising out of or related to the race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, religion, disability, age or sex of the employee when:

• Submission to or rejection of such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
• Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an employee is used as the basis for employment judgments affecting the employee; or
• Such conduct has the purpose or the effect of unreasonably interfering with an employee's work performance; creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment; or otherwise adversely and unreasonably impacting upon an employee's employment opportunities.

Reporting and Investigating Discrimination/Harassment

It is the responsibility of every supervisor and administrator to recognize acts of discrimination/harassment and take necessary action to ensure that such instances are addressed swiftly, fairly and effectively. Consequently, all administrative and supervisory staff in schools, offices and other facilities should be aware of and are responsible for implementing the discrimination/harassment complaint resolution procedures established through this policy and the procedures identified in AC-R.

Discrimination/harassment complaints for all protected bases of prohibited discrimination/harassment (race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, religion, disability, age or sex) go to the District's Title IX Coordinator, the Assistant Superintendent - Instruction, who handles more than Title IX sex discrimination. The Title IX Coordinator may be contacted at 6800 Hoke Road, Englewood, OH 45315 (937) 837-7781.

Persons who have reason to believe that discrimination/harassment has occurred should promptly report the incident as follows:

• If the persons so reporting are students or parents, to the principal, supervisor, a school counselor or the Title IX Coordinator.
• If the persons so reporting are employees, to their immediate supervisor or the Title IX Coordinator.
• If the persons so reporting are third parties (not a student or an employee), to the Title IX Coordinator, or if the Title IX Coordinator is the alleged harasser, then to the Assistant Superintendent -Operations.

Contact information for the above individuals may be found on the Board's website: http://www.mvctc.com.

Staff members must document all reports of incidents of discrimination/harassment as well as any incidents they observe in writing to the person(s) identified above.

If not reported to the Title IX coordinator, the person receiving the report will ensure that the Title IX coordinator receives prompt notice of the complaint.

If a staff member has reason to believe s/he is observing prohibited discrimination/harassment by an individual over whom the staff member has supervisory authority, the staff member should intervene to stop the discrimination/harassment, unless circumstances exist which would make such intervention dangerous.

Please refer to 5517 for procedures to report discrimination/harassment issues and Title IX coordinator for forms related to discrimination/harassment complaints and investigations.

Communication

The Superintendent is directed to make every effort to make certain that everyone affected by the policy shall be informed of its provisions and also that infractions of it may be in violation of federal or state civil and/or criminal laws. It is the intention of the Board to take whatever action may be needed to prevent, correct, and, if necessary, discipline behavior which violates this policy.

Review and Reporting

The Superintendent will report annually to the Board on reported harassment incidents.

Training

The Superintendent will coordinate comprehensive training for Center officials, administrators, staff, and security personnel responsible for implementing and enforcing federal anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws and related policies and procedures.

Office for Civil Rights

An individual may, at any time, contact the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights at:

Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 325
Cleveland, OH 44115

Telephone: 216-522-4970
FAX: 216-522-2573; TDD: 877-521-2172
Email: OCR.Cleveland@ed.gov

PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING

The Title IX Coordinator may be contacted at 6800 Hoke Road, Englewood, OH 45315 (937) 837-7781. Contact information for other individuals identified in this Regulation may be found on the Board's website: http://www.mvctc.com.

Steps for Administrators to Follow in Processing Reports about Discrimination and/or Harassment (referred to as "nondiscrimination/harassment" in this Regulation)

Step 1: All reports should be directed to:

• If the persons so reporting are students or parents, to the principal, supervisor, a school counselor or the Title IX Coordinator.
• If the persons so reporting are employees, to their immediate supervisor or the Title IX Coordinator.
• If the persons so reporting are third parties (not a student or an employee), to the Title IX Coordinator, or if the Title IX Coordinator is the alleged discriminator and/or harasser, then to the Assistant Superintendent - Operations.

The Title IX Coordinator may be contacted at 6800 Hoke Road, Englewood, OH 45315, (937) 837-7781. Further contact information may be found on the Board's website: http://www.mvctc.com.

Any administrator or supervisor who receives a report must notify the Title IX Coordinator within three business days to let him/her know of the report and to obtain help if needed. The Assistant Superintendent - Operations shall assume responsibilities otherwise assigned to the Title IX Coordinator if the Title IX Coordinator is a party at interest in the complaint.

OPTIONAL Step 2:

Within five business days of receipt of a report of discrimination/harassment, the administrator or supervisor will offer the complainant an informal resolution process to attempt to resolve the complaint through informal discussion and problem solving first. Participation in the informal process is voluntary and the formal process is the default process to be used. If the complainant chooses to participate in an informal process, it will be with appropriate involvement by the Center (e.g., participation by a counselor, trained mediator, or if appropriate, a teacher or administrator). In some cases, such as alleged sexual assaults, an informal process such as mediation is not appropriate, even on a voluntary basis. The complainant has the right to end the informal process at any time and begin the formal process.

Step 3:

If Step 2 does not produce a resolution within five business days or the complainant does not agree to informal resolution of the complaint, the administrator or supervisor will initiate the formal reporting process using the appropriate forms which can be received from the Title IX coordinator.

Step 4:

When initiating the formal process, the administrator or supervisor will share the following with the complainant:

• "Confidentiality" means that the person's identity will remain unknown to the person(s) he/she is accusing. To the extent that the complainant requests confidentiality or asks that the complaint not be pursued, the Center will take all reasonable steps to investigate and respond to the complaint consistent with the request for confidentiality or the request not to pursue an investigation. If the complainant continues to ask that his or her name or other identifiable information not be revealed, the Center will explain that it must evaluate that request in the context of its responsibility to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students. The Center will weigh the request for confidentiality against the following factors: the seriousness of the alleged discrimination/harassment; the complainant's age; whether there have been other discrimination/harassment complaints about the same individual; and the alleged discriminator's/harasser's rights to receive information about the allegations if the information is maintained by the Center as an "education record" under FERPA.
• The Superintendent and Title IX Coordinator will receive a copy of all reports written about this matter, unless either is a party at interest.
• The Center will use a preponderance of the evidence standard to investigate allegations of discrimination/harassment.
• Minor students do not need parental permission to file complaints or participate in the complaint process; however, parents will generally be informed of cases involving their children.

There is a prohibition of retaliation against persons who report alleged discrimination/harassment or participate in the investigation process.

Step 5:

Within seven business days of the discrimination/harassment being reported, the administrator or supervisor will have the complainant fill out the Discrimination/Harassment Complaint Form received from the Title IX coordinator. If after reading the complaint, the administrator or supervisor believes a different procedure is more relevant, the administrator or supervisor will so advise the complainant. If not, the administrator or supervisor will send a copy of the Form to the Title IX Coordinator within three business days and he/she will assign the administrator or supervisor or another person to conduct the investigation.

Step 6:

The timeframe for the investigation process is estimated to take ten to twenty business days. During the impartial investigation, the investigator should contact the person who initiated the complaint on an ongoing basis in order to obtain additional information and update him/her about the status of the investigation, and provide the opportunity for the complainant to identify witnesses or parties involved, or present other evidence to the investigator if applicable. Whoever conducts the investigation will complete the Investigation Report Form and submit a copy to the Title IX Coordinator. To ensure that the discrimination/harassment does not recur, the following remedies are examples of actions that could be taken: disciplinary action, change in classroom assignment or schedule, mediation, etc. Such actions should be processed through regular administrative channels.

Step 7:

To the extent permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g and Ohio Revised Code 3319.321, written notice of the outcome of the complaint will be provided to the parties within three business days following the completion of the investigation. If a party is not satisfied with the results of the investigation, he/she may appeal to the Superintendent/designee. The decision of the Superintendent/designee is final.

Step 8:

If the accusation is substantiated, the CTC will take appropriate steps within ten business days to remedy harm to the victim as appropriate and to prevent recurrence of the discrimination/harassment. The immediate supervisor or building administrator shall be responsible for implementation of appropriate remedies such as disciplinary action, change in classroom assignment or schedule, mediation, etc.