ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The St. Johns County School Board has unanimously passed a proposal to update its sexual harassment policy.
The proposed changes add a dedicated section to the policy that outlines the process for filing a sexual harassment complaint.
General counsel for the school board, Frank Upchurch, presented the new rule during a board workshop back in June.
He shared during Tuesday’s meeting that the board chose to make this addition to the policy as a result of specific guidance for Title IX policies from the federal government and the Office of Civil Rights.
“We’re doing this not because we necessarily thought it was necessary, but because the regulators who make the rules did,” said Upchurch.
The new proposal adds 10 pages under Rule 2.161, detailing the grievance process for sexual harassment complaints.
The updated policy defines sexual harassment as “including, but not limited to, requests for sexual favors and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.”
Examples of conduct that may constitute sexual harassment include:
- Graphic verbal comments about an individual’s body or appearance
- Sexual jokes, notes, stories, drawings, pictures, or gestures
- Sexual slurs, leering, threats, abusive words, derogatory comments, or sexually degrading descriptions
- Unwelcome sexual flirtations or propositions for sexual activity, or unwelcome demands for sexual favors
- Spreading sexual rumors
- Touching an individual’s body or clothes (including one’s own) in a sexual way
- Cornering or blocking normal movements
- Displaying sexually suggestive drawings, pictures, written materials, or objects in the educational environment
Items 5 through 17 of the proposed policy detail the process for reporting, investigating, and resolving formal sexual harassment complaints.
Previous coverage can be found in the video below
The policy states that any person may report sexual harassment to the Title IX coordinator, currently listed as Cynthia Preston. Formal complaints must be investigated under the grievance process, and procedures are in place for emergency removal if necessary.
The previous policy against discrimination and harassment was all-encompassing for the definitions of discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment. Upchurch explained that the policy had been on the books since the late 90s.
“We had to decide, ‘How are we going to address this?’ And concluded that the best way to do it would be to carve Title IX issues out of the existing general discrimination policy,” Upchurch explained. “If a student or an employee feels victimized, they can report it, and it will be processed. These rules tell you where the report should be filed.”
