The Northview School District has policies and protocols in place regarding sexual harassment in order to maintain a safe environment for all students and staff, using Title IX regulations as the basis.
With that said, many students are unsure of the steps to report instances of sexual harassment, which is defined in Board Policy 5517 as, “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature […]”
Title IX Director and Deputy Superintendent Liz Cotter broke down those steps.
“Whether if it’s a staff member or a student who believes they are a victim of sexual harassment, they would report to their direct superior,” Cotter said. “Students could report to [Principal Mark] Thomas or really any staff member. A staff member [would] then report it to myself directly, or they could report it to Thomas or [Assistant Principal Brett] Dickerson. Then, they would share that information with me.”
Cotter and Athletic Director Patrick Marsman are the Title IX Coordinators and Anti-Harassment Compliance Officers for the entire district and are in charge of any sexual harassment claims.
Regardless of the details surrounding the harassment complaint, whether anonymous or not, the Title IX Coordinators are always required to conduct an investigation.
“I cannot, by law, just say ‘forget about it, that doesn’t sound like much to me.’ We are obligated by law to do an investigation,” Cotter said. “Based on each individual scenario, that could look a little bit different. We approach every scenario uniquely.”
However, Cotter noted that there are a few key steps that stay consistent.
“We would interview the victim. Then we would also interview the respondent, or the person that they were complaining about. If there were any other people involved in the situation that might have something they could share that would be helpful, we would interview those people,” Cotter said.
She also added that they often look beyond the verbal account of individuals.
“If there’s videotape footage of something that might be helpful, we look at [that],” Cotter said. “Sometimes, people, particularly students, use social media to share things that happened, and that could be helpful in an investigation in one way or another. So, we’ll look at social media accounts. We’ll just try to gather as much information as we can about the allegations.”
While social media is useful in incriminating the respondent, these platforms can also prove to be problematic, especially when the victim attempts to take matters into their own hands.
“Sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination are all violations of board policy and can rise to illegal behavior,” Cotter said. “‘Retaliation’ is also a violation of board policy. Sometimes individuals will use social media to spread false rumors, or retaliate against an individual involved in an investigation. This can frustrate the process or lead to a separate disciplinary issue of retaliation.”
When sexual harassment is revealed as criminal, the police become involved. With that, the district is, by law, not permitted to stop their own investigation and simply hand things over to law enforcement, which can often complicate obtaining evidence.
“[Conducting both investigations] can be a little tricky sometimes, because the criminal justice side might say ‘Oh, we don’t want you to interview these people, because we think it’s going to get in the way with our investigation.’ And we might say, ‘Ah, same thing over here’,” Cotter said. “But, we cannot pause our investigation while they’re doing theirs.”
The district goes through many steps in order to assure that all policies and procedures follow laws.
First, board policies in general, but especially concerning topics like sexual harassment, go through several organizations prior to being implemented.
“The district has a law firm on retainer that we use to craft certain board policies or help with uniquely difficult situations,” Cotter said. “We also use NEOLA for more boilerplate policies. Additionally, every board policy must be reviewed multiple times and finally approved by our Board of Education.”
On top of that, every staff member, from teachers to custodians, must participate in yearly training about harassment.
“Title IX (the federal civil rights law regarding sex-based discrimination) requires that all school employees receive specific and comprehensive training on issues of sex-based harassment and discrimination. Currently, all staff participates in an annual course specifically on Title IX discrimination and harassment,” Cotter said.
Furthermore, Northview provides services to support victims of sexual harassment. Sometimes, they may involve a social worker, especially in what Cotter describes as “internal measures,” or the mental and emotional wellbeing of individuals.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the victim and his or her family on how they best want to do that,” Cotter said. “We will certainly offer that support to anybody who needs it.”
Cotter believes that the district is efficient in terms of investigation procedures.
“In terms of when allegations are made, I am very comfortable that our process is thorough, it is compliant with the law and provides the necessary wraparound services for people,” she said.
