7.6 Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment Link to this section

The Governing Board is committed to maintaining a safe school environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of the Civil Rights Act of 1972 and is prohibited by both federal and state laws. The Board prohibits sexual harassment of students by other students, employees or other persons, at school or at school-sponsored or school-related activities. The United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights has defined sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including:

Quid pro quo harassment- An employee, agent, or other person authorized by the District to provide an aid, benefit, or service under the recipient’s education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditioning a provision of such aid, benefit, or service on a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct;
Hostile environment harassment - Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it effectively denies a person equal access to the District’s education program and/or activity.
Specific offenses including: Sexual assault, sexual battery, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking

Examples of sexual harassment include:

Unwanted physical contact with a person’s private body parts, including contact that is done “as a joke”
Unwanted comments of a sexual nature, including sexual jokes
Unwanted comments about a person’s body, including “catcalling”
Coercion to engage in sexual activity
Spreading information or rumors about a person’s sexual experience
Sharing images or videos of a person’s private body parts and/or of sexual acts without all parties’ consent

The Board also prohibits harassment, intimidation, threatening, or other retaliatory behavior or action against any person who reports, files a complaint, or testifies about, or otherwise supports a complainant in alleging sexual harassment.

i. Definitions

Complainant: A student, employee, or any individual who was participating in or attempting to participate in the District’s education program or activity at the time the alleged sexual discrimination took place.
Respondent: An individual who has been reported to have performed conduct that could constitute sexual harassment.
Complaint: A written, formal request to the District that is signed by the Complainant or the Complainant’s parent/guardian and submitted to the District’s Title IX Coordinator.
Sexual Assault: A sexual act directed against another person done without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent. Sexual assault includes the following conduct:
Rape: The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without consent of the victim.
Fondling/Sexual Battery: The touching of private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without consent of the victim.
Incest: Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
Statutory Rape: Sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.
Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.
Domestic Violence: A crime of violence committed by a person who is:
- A current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim;
- A person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
- A person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
- A person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws where the violence occurred; or
- By any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from the person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws where the violence occurred.
Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a response person to fear for the persons safety/the safety of others, or suffer substantial emotional distress
Consent: Consent is defined as knowing, voluntary permission through words or actions to engage in sexual activity. Individuals may perceive and experience the same interaction in different ways. Therefore it is the responsibility of all parties to determine that the other has consented before engaging in the activity. Consent is evaluated from the perspective of what a reasonable person of the same age in the same situation would understand as permission, including the context in which the alleged misconduct occurred and any previous patterns that may be relevant. Consent can also be withdrawn once given, as long as the withdrawal is reasonably and clearly communicated. If consent is withdrawn, sexual conduct should cease within a reasonably immediate time. Silence or the absence of resistance alone should not be interpreted as consent, however, while resistance is not required or necessary, it is a clear demonstration of non-consent.
Education Program or Activity: Locations, events, or circumstances over which the District has exercised substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurred.
Supportive Measures: Non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered to the complainants or the respondent.

ii. Instruction/Information

The District s committed to taking steps to prevent sexual harassment within its educational program or activities by providing age-appropriate instruction about topics such as healthy relationships, boundaries, consent, sexual harassment, and Title IX. Schools will make available to students information about: how to identify and report sexual harassment; the District procedures for responding to sexual harassment; and students’ rights under Title IX. Such instruction and information shall include:

What acts and behavior constitute sexual harassment, including the fact that sexual harassment could occur between people of the same sex and could involve sexual violence;
A clear message that students do not have to endure sexual harassment under any circumstance;
Encouragement to report observed incidents of sexual harassment even where the alleged victim of the harassment has not complained;
A clear message that student safety is the District's primary concern, and that any separate rule violation involving an alleged victim or any other person reporting a sexual harassment incident will be addressed separately and will not affect the manner in which the sexual harassment complaint will be received, investigated or resolved;
Information about the District's procedure for investigating complaints and the person(s) to whom a report of sexual harassment should be made;
Information about the rights of students and parents/guardians to file a civil or criminal complaint, as applicable.

iii. Response to Report of Sexual Harassment

The District strongly encourages all students who are witness or victim to sexual harassment to report it to their school’s Administration team. Any District employee who receives a report or observes an incident of sexual harassment shall notify the principal or the District Title IX Coordinator.

Eva Kellogg

Office of Equity / Title IX Coordinator

555 Franklin St

San Francisco, CA

equity@sfusd.edu

All reports of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and responded to promptly. Upon receiving a report of sex discrimination or sexual harassment, the District Title IX Coordinator or their representative will inform the victim of their rights under Title IX, the steps that will be taken to investigate the allegations and address the issues they raise, and the availability of supportive measures.

In the event that a formal Title IX complaint is made alleging that sexual harassment has occurred, the complaint will by analyzed according to the following criteria:

The allegations in the report, if validated through the preponderance of relevant and available evidence, constitutes sexual harassment under federal Title IX regulations and Board Policy; and
At the time of filing, the Complainant must be participating in or attempting to participate in an education program or activity provided by the District; and
The alleged sexual harassment occurred within the District's jurisdiction as defined by federal Title IX policy, which specifies that the incident must have occurred on school grounds and/or within the District's education programs or activities; and
The formal complaint must be made in writing and include the Complainant's (or their legal guardian's) physical or digital signature, or otherwise indicate that the Complainant is the person filing the formal complaint.

If the conduct alleged in the formal complaint could not constitute sexual harassment as defined above, did not occur within the District’s jurisdiction under Title IX, or did not occur against a person in the United States, or occurred before August 14, 2020, then the formal complaint must be dismissed. However, complaints that are dismissed under Title IX may be addressed under another appropriate District policy. If a formal Title IX complaint is dismissed, prompt written notice of the dismissal will be sent to the Complainant and, if appropriate, to the Respondent.

The Title IX Coordinator may also sign a formal Title IX Complaint when all other circumstances and jurisdictional requirements are met. No formal Title IX complaint can be made anonymously.

Upon receipt of any formal Title IX Complaint that meets the criteria for a Title IX violation, the following procedures will apply:

A notice of investigation and allegations will be sent simultaneously to all parties.
The Respondent will be informed of their right to be considered “not responsible” for violating Title IX or Board Policy until the investigation concludes and a determination of responsibility is made
All parties will be informed of their right to equally present and inspect relevant evidence
The investigator will create an investigation report that fairly summarizes the relevant evidence.
An investigator will be assigned to gather all evidence and information related to the allegations.
All parties will have ten business days prior to the conclusion of the investigation report to review the draft report and provide a written response to the investigator.
After the parties receive the final investigation report, the parties will have ten business days to submit to the Decision-Maker written, relevant questions that a party wants asked of any party or witness. The Decision-Maker will determine the relevancy of these questions and allow limited follow-up questions and responses from each party.
The Decision-Maker will conduct an evaluation of all relevant evidence and will issue a written determination regarding responsibility to both parties.

Upon conclusion of the formal grievance procedures, any student who is found responsible for having engaged in sexual harassment or sexual violence within the District’s jurisdiction is in violation of Board Policy 5145.7 and Title IX and shall be subject to disciplinary action and/or interventions in accordance with board policy and California Education Code. For students in grades 4-12, disciplinary action may include suspension and/or expulsion, provided that, in imposing such discipline, the entire circumstances of the incident(s) shall be taken into account. Students in all grades may be referred for expulsion if they are found responsible for committing sexual assault as defined in California Education Code 48915(c)(4).

Any staff member found to have engaged in sexual harassment or sexual violence toward any student shall be subject to discipline up to and including dismissal in accordance with applicable policies, laws, and/or collective bargaining agreements.

In addition to the formal grievance procedures outlined above, those who are party to a formal Title IX complaint may opt to resolve the matter by informal resolution. An informal resolution is a voluntary process during which all Parties must willingly agree to engage in mediated resolution of the concerns raised by the complaint. Informal resolution processes are not available when the complaint alleges that an employee sexually harassed a student.

Additionally, all those who are party to a report of sexual harassment are entitled to supportive measures that retain or preserve their access to the educational program or activity. Supportive measures are non-punitive, non-disciplinary individualized services such as, but not limited to:

Safety plans
Wellness services
Academic accommodations
Scheduling adjustments
Referrals to community resources

Upon conclusion of an investigation and determination, any party may appeal the final determination of a complaint within five business days of the issuance of the written determination on the following bases:

A procedural irregularity occurred that affected the outcome of the matter (ie: the procedure described in this policy was not properly followed);
There is new evidence, that was not reasonably available at the time the determination was made, that would affect the outcome of the matter; or
The Title IX Coordinator, Investigator(s), or Decision-Maker(s) had a conflict of interest or bias for or against Complainants or Respondents generally or the individual Complainant or Respondent that affected the outcome of the matter.

The District will provide a response to any appeal within thirty (30) business days.

District employees who have reasonable suspicion of child abuse, including sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and/or sexual assault, are mandated to immediately report that suspicion pursuant to Penal Code 11165.7 and Board Policy 5141.4. A report shall be made regardless of the identity of the accused person, including reports in which the accused person is a District employee, student or third party.

This page was last updated on August 6, 2025