Pioneer High

WJUSD NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

Regulations require that no person shall on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.  It is District policy not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap in any of its educational program or career counseling or activities, or in its employment practices.  Questions or complaints from students, parents or employees should be directed to the school principal or the following district administrators.  (Title VI, Title IX, Section 504). Dr. Maria Armstrong, Superintendent, Woodland Joint Unified School District, 435 6th Street, Woodland, CA 95695, telephone (530) 662-0201, or contact Giovanni Linares, Director of Pupil Services, Woodland Joint Unified School District, 435 6th Street, Woodland, CA 95695, telephone (530) 662-0201.

 

Academic and non academic courses, classes, electives, activities, sports, and related facilities

 
State and federal policies require academic and nonacademic courses, classes, electives, school-related activities, team sports, athletic competitions and school facilities be available to all students without regard to their gender or gender identity and irrespective of the gender listed in their records. Staff will not counsel students into programs, courses or careers based on their gender or gender identity. [Education Code 221.5; California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) 300D; Government Code 11135, 11138; Title IV, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Case Number 09-12-1020; Department of Justice (DOJ) Case Number 169-12C-70]


UNLAWFUL HARASSMENT OF STUDENTS

The District is committed to providing an educational environment free of unlawful harassment.  The District maintains a strict policy prohibiting harassment of students because of sex, race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, physical or mental disability, blindness or severely impaired vision or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, ordinance, or regulation.  All such harassment is unlawful.  Irrespective of law, the District believes that all such harassment is offensive.  The District’s anti-harassment policy applies to all persons involved in the District’s educational environment and prohibits unlawful harassment by any District student or any employee of the District, including verbal, physical and visual conduct, threats, demands and retaliation, is prohibited.  Violation of this policy by an employee may result in discipline, which may include suspension or expulsion, depending on the nature and seriousness of the violation.  (See Education Code Sections 48900 and 48900.2)

Unlawful harassment because of sex, race, ancestry, physical or mental disability, age or any other protected basis includes, but is not limited to:
• Verbal conduct such as epithets, derogatory comments, slurs, or unwanted sexual advances, invitations or comments;
• Visual conduct such as derogatory posters, photography, cartoons, drawings or gestures;
• Physical conduct such as assault, unwanted touching, blocking normal movement or interfacing with academic performance or progress directed at a student of sex or race or any other protected basis;
• Threats and demands to submit to sexual requests in order to receive a good grade or other benefit or avoid some loss, and offers of good grades or other benefit in return for sexual favors; and/or
• Retaliation for having reported or threatened to report harassment.
• Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in the work or educational setting, under any of the following condition
• Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of academic decisions affecting the individual.
• Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individual’s academic status, or progress.
• Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of academic decisions affecting the individual.
• The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment.
• Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
 

DISCRIMINATION, PROTECTIONS, COMPLAINTS AND PROCEDURES

All pupils have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment.
Schools have an obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity and ensure safe school sites. Parents/Guardians of students who believe they are being harassed because of their sex, sexual orientation, race, ancestry, or other protected basis should use existing procedures to file a complaint (see Policy #5220 on the WJUSD Web site).   

Students may have a claim of harassment even if they have not lost an economic benefit.  The law prohibits any form of protected-basis harassment, which impairs the educational environment or their emotional well being at school.


If a student thinks they are being harassed because of their sex, race, ancestry or other protected basis, they should use the procedure outlined in this policy to file a complaint and have it investigated. Students have a right to redress for unlawful harassment.  In order to secure this right, provide a complaint, preferably but not necessarily in writing, to the Director of Personnel, or the Superintendent, Woodland Joint Unified School District, 435 6th Street, Woodland, CA, 95695 as soon as possible but at least within six months of the date the alleged harassment occurred or within six months of the date the student first obtained knowledge regarding the alleged harassment. Student complaints should include the details of the incident or incidents, the names of the individuals involved and the names of any witnesses.  The District will immediately undertake an effective, thorough and objective investigation of the harassment allegations.  The investigation will be conducted in a manner that protects the confidentiality of the parties and the facts.  This investigation will be completed and a determination regarding the alleged harassment will be made and communicated to the student within sixty days after the District receives the complaint.

If the District determines that unlawful harassment has occurred, it will take effective remedial action commensurate with the severity of the offense.  Appropriate action will also be taken to deter any future harassment.  The District will take appropriate action to remedy any loss to the victim resulting from harassment.  The District will not retaliate against the student for filing a complaint and will not knowingly permit retaliation by any District employee or another student. The District encourages all students to report any incidents of harassment forbidden by this policy immediately so that complaints can be resolved quickly and fairly.  A complaint may be filed directly with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in a variety of circumstances.  More information on this complaint process may be obtained from the Superintendent or the Director of Personnel, Woodland Joint Unified School District, 435 6th Street, Woodland, CA, 95695.

Students should be aware that the U.S. Office of Civil Rights also investigates complaints of harassment on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, blindness or severely impaired vision or other protected basis in educational programs that receive federal financial assistance.  If any student thinks they have been harassed or retaliated against for resisting or complaining about harassment, the student may file a complaint with the Office.  Information on beginning this complaint process may be obtained from the Director of Personnel, Woodland Joint Unified School District, 435 6th Street, Woodland, CA, 95695, or by calling the U.S. Office of Civil Rights directly.