TITLE IX – SEX-BASED DISCRIMINATION

State and federal statutes and regulations prohibit school districts from discriminatory practices in employment or educational opportunity against any person by reason of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, domestic partnership status, familial status, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait of any individual, genetic information, or refusal to submit to a genetic test or make the results of a genetic test known, pregnancy in employment or in educational opportunities. Further state and federal protection is extended on account of disabilities, social or economic status, pregnancy, childbirth, pregnancy-related disabilities, actual or potential parenthood, or family status.

Title IX Coordinator, Grievance Procedures and Notifications

The board in consultation with the chief school administrator shall appoint at least one employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with its responsibilities under Title IX. The appointed employee shall be referred to as the “Title IX Coordinator.”

The chief school administrator or his or her designee shall notify applicants for employment, students, applicants to charter schools and other public schools accepting applications for attendance (i.e. vocational schools and specialty high schools), parents/guardians of elementary and secondary school students, employees, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the district, of the name or title, office address, electronic mail address, and telephone number of the employee(s) designated as the Title IX Coordinator pursuant to this paragraph.

Any person may report sex discrimination, including sexual harassment (whether or not the person reporting is the person alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute sex discrimination or sexual harassment), in person, by mail, by telephone, or by electronic mail, using the contact information listed for the Title IX Coordinator, or by any other means that results in the Title IX Coordinator receiving the person’s verbal or written report. Such a report may be made at any time (including during non-business hours) by using the telephone number or electronic mail address, or by mail to the office address, listed for the Title IX Coordinator.

The contact information required to be listed for the Title IX Coordinator and this board policy shall be prominently display on the district website and in the parent/student handbook, the employee handbooks and catalogs published by the district. The board shall not use or distribute any publication stating that the board treats applicants, students, or employees differently on the basis of sex except as such treatment is permitted by Title IX and its related regulations.

The chief school administrator or his or her designee shall notify applicants for employment, students, parents/guardians of elementary and secondary school students, employees, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the district:

A. Of this policy and the grievance procedures and grievance process; and

B. That the district does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, and that it is required by Title IX and its related regulations not to discriminate in such a manner. Such notification shall state that the requirement not to discriminate in the education program or activity extends to admission and employment, and that inquiries about the application of Title IX may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education (referred to as the “Assistant Secretary”), or both.

The Title IX coordinator with the chief school administrator shall develop and the board shall adopt grievance procedures. The grievance procedures shall be published with the policy and shall provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of student and employee complaints alleging any action that would be prohibited by Title IX and its related regulations, and a grievance process for formal complaints.

The chief school administrator or his or her designee shall notify applicants for employment, students, applicants to charter schools and other public schools accepting applications for attendance (i.e. vocational schools and specialty high schools), parents/guardians of elementary and secondary school students, employees, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the district, of the grievance procedures and grievance process, including how to report or file a complaint of sex discrimination, how to report or file a formal complaint of sexual harassment, and how the district will respond. This shall only apply to sex discrimination occurring against a person in the United States.

The Title IX coordinator(s) shall be responsible for coordinating the district’s efforts to comply with its responsibilities under this part, which includes, but may not be limited to, the implementation of the grievance procedures, this policy and accompanying regulations for complying with Title IX. The chief school administrator or his or her designee shall notify all its applicants for admission and employment, students, parents/guardians of elementary and secondary school students, employees, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the district of the name or title, office address electronic mail address, and telephone number of the employee or employees appointed to coordinate the implementation of this policy and accompanying regulations.

General
The board of education is committed to ensuring that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any academic,
extracurricular, research, occupational training, or other education program or activity operated by the district, including but not limited to:
A. Education programs or activities;
B. Comparable facilities;
C. Access to classes and schools;
D. Classes and extracurricular activities;
E. Schools;
F. Access to institutions of vocational education;
G. Counseling and use of appraisal and counseling materials;
H. Financial assistance;
I. Employment assistance to students;
J. Health and insurance benefits and services;
K. Athletics (any interscholastic, club or intramural athletics offered by the district, and the district shall not provide any such athletics separately on the basis of sex).

Nothing in this board policy and regulation and Title IX shall be interpreted as requiring or prohibiting or abridging in any way the use of particular textbooks or curricular materials.

Education Programs or Activities – Specific Prohibitions