Policy 6005 - Equality of Educational Opportunity-Pupil Nondiscrimination/Anti-Harassment

The District is firmly committed to an educational environment that is free of discrimination and harassment in any form.

Discrimination means any action, policy or practice, including bias, stereotyping and student harassment which is detrimental to a person or group of persons and differentiates or distinguishes among persons, or limits or denies a person or group of persons opportunities, privileges, roles or rewards based, in whole or in part, on sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability, or which perpetuates the effects of past discrimination.

Student harassment means behavior toward students based in whole or in part on sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability which substantially interferes with a student's school performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive school environment.

The right of a person to be admitted to any school in the District, and to participate fully in and enjoy the benefits of any curricular, extracurricular, student services, recreational or other programs or activities will not be abridged or impaired because of discrimination based upon the person's sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability. Sex shall not be utilized as a determinant for participation in a program except when sex is a bona fide qualification.

Discrimination based on any of the aforementioned characteristics is prohibited in the following areas:

1. Admission to any school, class, program or activity;
2. Standards, rules of behavior, or pupil harassment;
3. Discipline, suspension or expulsion of any student;
4. Acceptance or administration of gifts, bequests, scholarships, benefits, or other aids or services to pupils from private agencies, organizations or persons;
5. Selection of instructional or library media materials;
6. Methods, practices or materials used for testing, evaluating and counseling students;
7. Facilities;
8. Opportunities for participation in athletic programs or activities; and
9. Food service programs.

The District shall enforce rules pertaining to the conduct of students to maintain a favorable academic atmosphere wherein each student is treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity. The District shall immediately investigate complaints and take appropriate action as necessary to resolve complaints. Complaints shall be processed in accordance with the procedures established in Practice Statement 6005. All employees of the District are responsible for ensuring that discrimination or harassment behavior toward students does not occur. The District forbids any retaliation against anyone who reports an incident of discrimination or harassment.

This policy is not intended to prohibit the provision of special programs or services based on objective standards of individual need or performance to meet the needs of students, including gifted and talented, special education, school age parents, bilingual/bicultural, at-risk, and other special programs; or programs designed to overcome the effects of past discrimination. In addition, this policy is not intended to prohibit separate locker rooms, showers, and toilets for males and females, or separate programs in interscholastic athletics for males and females, but the separate facilities or programs must be comparable.

Questions concerning the interpretation or application of this policy shall be referred to the principal or the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, School District of Elmbrook, 13780 Hope Street, P.O.
Box 1830, Brookfield, WI 53008-1830.

Wis. Stats. 118.13
Wis. Admin. Code PI 9.01
Wis. Admin. Code PI 9.02

Adopted -- January 13, 1976
Reconfirmed -- 12/76, 2/89, 12/98, 2/2007
Revised -- 12/79, 11/82, 12/85, 5/87, 8/93, 9/99, 3/2003

Practice Statement 6005 - Equality of Educational Opportunity-Pupil Nondiscrimination/Anti-Harassment

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Board of Education shall annually provide public notice of its policy on equal educational opportunities. Such notice shall include the name of the individual designated to receive complaints regarding the interpretation or application of the policy. The notice shall be a Class I legal notice as provided under Wis. Stats. 985.

The Board shall include the following statement in all pupil and staff handbooks, course selection handbooks, and other published materials distributed to the public describing school activities and opportunities:

The right of a person to be admitted to any school in the District, and to participate fully in and enjoy the benefits of any curricular, extracurricular, pupil services, recreational or other programs or activities will not be abridged or impaired because of discrimination based upon the person's sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability. Sex shall not be utilized as a determinant for participation in a program except when sex is a bona fide qualification.

The Board shall also include the District's equal educational opportunities/harassment complaint procedure in all pupil and staff handbooks.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Board shall submit an annual compliance report to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, including the name and address of the individual designated to receive and process complaints regarding interpretation or application of the District's equal educational opportunities policy, the number of pupil discrimination complaints received during the year, a description of each such complaint, and its disposition.
The Board shall evaluate the status of nondiscrimination and equality of educational opportunity in the District at least once every five (5) years and shall submit a written report as scheduled by the Department of Public Instruction. The evaluation shall include:

1. Board policies and administrative procedures;
2. Enrollment trends in classes and programs;
3. Methods, practices, curriculum and materials used in instruction, counseling, and pupil assessment and testing;
4. Trends and patterns of disciplinary actions, including suspensions, expulsions, and handling of pupil harassment;
5. Participation trends and patterns and District support of athletic, extracurricular and recreational activities;
6. Trends and patterns in awarding scholarships and other forms of recognition and achievement provided or administered by the District; and 
7. Efforts to achieve equality of educational opportunity and nondiscrimination.

The Board shall also allow pupils, teachers, administrators, parents, and residents of the District to participate in the evaluation process. The written report of the evaluation shall be made available for examination by residents of the District.

COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

Step 1

Any student who believes that he/she has been discriminated against or subjected to harassment by another student or employee, or a parent/guardian who believes that discrimination or harassment has occurred, should report the incident(s) in writing to the building principal/designee via the District's Discrimination/Harassment Complaint form. The complaint form must be su bmitted to the principal/designee within 180 days of the incident. In the event a complaint is made to a staff member, the recipient of the complaint shall report the complaint immediately to the principal/designee. A third party witnessing or having knowledge of alleged discrimination or harassment shall also report the situation immediately to the principal/designee. The principal/designee shall conduct a thorough investigation of the alleged discrimination or harassment and report the results of the investigation and resolution of the complaint to the complaining party in writing within 10 school days of receipt of the complaint via the Disposition of Discrimination/Harassment Complaint form. Notice shall be provided to the complaining party if any extension to this timeline is needed. The complaining party shall be advised of his/her right to appeal as part of the written notification. All complaints shall be kept confidential to the extent possible within the parameters of the investigation. Referrals to appropriate law enforcement or social service agencies shall be made as deemed necessary for a given situation.

Step 2

If the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution of the complaint of alleged discrimination/harassment, he/she may submit a written request for appeal to the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, School District of Elmbrook, 13780 Hope Street, P.O. Box 1830, Brookfield, WI 53008-1830 within 10 school days following receipt of the Disposition of Discrimination/Harassment Complaint form. The Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services shall review the results of the initial disposition, discuss the appeal with the complaining party and the building administration as needed, and request any further investigation deemed necessary. Within 30 school days of the receipt of the appeal, the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services shall determine the resolution of the appeal in writing to the complaining party with notification of further appeal rights.

Step 3

If the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution of the complaint in Step 2, a written appeal may be made to the Superintendent within 10 school days following receipt of the written resolution in Step 2. The Superintendent shall review the complaint and the previous resolutions, meet with the complaining party as needed, and report in writing his/her decision to the complaining party within 20 school days following receipt of the appeal.

Step 4

If the complainant is not satisfied with the decision of the Superintendent, a written appeal may be made to the Board within 10 days of receipt of the Superintendent's decision. The Board shall meet with the complaining party to discuss the appeal and report its decision in writing to the complaining party within 30 school days following receipt of the appeal.

Step 5

If the complainant is not satisfied with the Board's decision, he/she may appeal the decision in writing within 30 school days of receipt of the Board's decision to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Madison, WI. Also, the complaining party has the right to file a written complaint with the Office of Civil Rights under federal law:

United States Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights
Midwestern Division, Chicago Office
111 North Canal Street, Suite 1053
Chicago, IL  60606-7204

The above procedures do not limit access to alternative actions available to the complaining party under the laws of the State of Wisconsin or the United States of America.

If the complaint alleges discrimination or harassment by the building principal, the Superintendent shall appoint another building principal to administer Step 1 of the complaint procedure.

If the complaint alleges discrimination or harassment by the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, the Superintendent shall appoint another Assistant Superintendent to administer Step 2 of the complaint procedure.

If the complaint alleges discrimination or harassment by the Superintendent, the Board may appoint an independent third party to administer Step 3 of the complaint procedure or may waive Step 3 of the procedure.

Complaints Related to Federal Programs

Complaints under 20 U.S.C. Sec. 12.31e-3 and 34 C.F.R. Sec. 76.780-76.782, commonly referred to as EDGAR complaints, that the State or subgrantee is violating a federal statute or regulation that applies to a program, shall be referred directly to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Madison. Complaints regarding Titles I, II, III, IV and V of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 shall be made in accordance with the procedures in Board Policy and Practice Statement 6163.4.

Complaints Relating to Special Education or Section 504

Discrimination complaints related to the identification, evaluation, educational placement or the provision of free appropriate public education of a student with special education or Section 504 needs shall be processed in accordance with established procedures in the district's Special Education or Section 504 handbooks. The District contact for special education complaints is the Director of Special Education, and for 504 complaints is the Director of Student Services at the Central Administration Office, School District of Elmbrook, 13780 Hope Street, P.O. Box 1830, Brookfield, WI 53008-1830.

Violations of Policy

Violations of this policy shall result in discipline of the individual involved. In the case of an employee harassing a student, the discipline to the employee may range from a warning to termination, depending on the facts. In the case of a student harassing another student, the discipline to the student may range from a warning to expulsion from school, depending on the facts.

The District also recognizes that false or fraudulent claims of harassment may be filed. It shall treat all harassment claims as valid unless and until the District's investigation reveals that the complaint was filed falsely, fraudulently or for an improper purpose. The District reserves the right to discipline any person filing a false or fraudulent claim of harassment, with the discipline ranging from a warning to expulsion from school, depending on the facts.

Date Approved -- July 8, 1976
Revised -- 12/79, 12/85, 5/87, 4/93, 7/96, 9/98/ 6/2003, 11/2006, 2/2007