The Board strives to create and maintain an education environment in which scholars, parents, and staff are treated with dignity, decency, and respect. Discriminatory harassment of scholars, by District elected officials, employees, vendors, contractors, or other doing business with the District, scholars, parent(s)/guardian(s), invitees, volunteers, or guests will not be tolerated. Similarly, scholar-on-scholar discriminatory harassment is prohibited.
Discriminatory harassment means any verbal or physical conduct, intimidation, ridicule, disparagement, purposeful embarrassment, or chiding of any person because of their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, height, weight, color, hair texture, hair type or hair style, religion, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, disability, or veteran status or any other basis prohibited by law when:
- Submission to such conduct or communication is made either an explicit or implicit condition of utilizing or benefiting from the services, activities, or programs of the District;
- Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct or communication is used as the basis for a decision to exclude, expel or limit the harassed scholar in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the District; or
- The harassment substantially interferes with the scholar’s education, creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment, or otherwise adversely affects the student’s educational opportunities.
Sexual Harassment
If scholars, or parents/guardians on their behalf believe that they are being sexually harassed, the provisions in Board Policy 8575 – Sexual Harassment of Scholars and its rules (8575- R) will apply.
Federal Title Programs
If any scholar, or parent/guardian on behalf of their scholar, believes the District or an employee of the District has inadequately applied the principles and/or regulations of a federal Title program or believe they have been the subject of discriminatory harassment, that person may make a complaint to the Civil Rights Coordinator at the following address:
The Civil Rights Coordinator
Grand Rapids Public Schools
1331 Martin Luther King Jr. St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Phone: (616) 819-2000
Reporting
Any scholar who believes that he or she has suffered harassment must immediately report the incident(s) to their school Principal, an Assistant Principal, or to the Civil Rights Coordinator as identified above. Should the complaint be against the Superintendent, the incident must be reported to:
Vice-President of the Board of Education
Grand Rapids Public Schools
1331 Martin Luther King Jr. St. SE.
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Phone: (616) 819-2000
Reports may also be made to the Ethics Hotline at https://reportanissue.com/grps/welcome.php, or call 1-800-345-7377. Reports may be made to the hotline anonymously.
No individual reporting an incident of discriminatory harassment or participating in an investigation of discriminatory harassment will suffer any form of retaliation. In determining whether the alleged conduct constitutes discrimination or harassment, the totality of the circumstances, the nature of the harassment and the context in which the alleged incident(s) occurred will be investigated. The District’s Civil Rights Coordinator or designee has the responsibility of investigating complaints of discriminatory harassment of scholars. In cases where the alleged harassment involves a member of the Board, the District will appoint outside legal counsel to investigate the complaint. The results of an investigation and any action taken thereon will be communicated to the parties. The results of an investigation will be confidential to the extent permitted under law.
The District considers discriminatory harassment to be a major offense, which, if substantiated, will result in disciplinary action. Disciplinary action against a District employee may include suspension or termination of employment. Disciplinary action against a scholar may include expulsion. Disciplinary action against a Board member may include any remedy available under law.
The Superintendent shall develop rules to implement this policy.
Notification
Notice of this policy and its accompanying rules will be posted on the District website. Notice will also be provided to scholars and parents/guardians in the Scholar Resource and Responsibility Guidebook on an annual basis.
