Q.: What is harassment?
A: Repeated conduct – Three or more acts of willful and malicious behavior directed at a specific person, done with the intent to cause fear, intimidation, abuse, or damage to property, and that actually results in fear, intimidation, abuse, or damage to property;
OR
A single act that meets one of the following:
(A) Uses force, threat, or duress to cause another person to involuntarily engage in sexual relations; or
(B) Violates one of the following Massachusetts criminal laws: §§ 13B, 13F, 13H, 22, 22A, 23, 24, 24B, 26C, 43, or 43A of Chapter 265, or § 3 of Chapter 272.
Harassment includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome, inappropriate, or illegal physical, verbal, written graphic, or electronic conduct related to an individual's actual or perceived Protective Class, that has the purpose or effect of creating a hostile education or work environment, or, if the conduct were to persist, would likely create a hostile education or work environment. A victim may include a person reasonably affected by conduct directed toward another individual.
MCCPS will not tolerate any form of harassment.
MCCPS will investigate all reports or complaints of harassment promptly and in an impartial and as confidential a manner as possible to ensure prompt resolution. If incidents of harassment are substantiated, the MCCPS will take appropriate disciplinary, corrective or remedial action.
Q: What is sexual harassment?
A. By law, sexual harassment is defined as when someone asks for sex or sexual favors, and/or behaves in a sexual way AND:
How you respond to the sexual behavior or requests affects your job. Getting hired, fired, promoted, or having the work you do changed significantly are some examples of ways your job may be affected. This is called "Quid pro quo" sexual harassment;
AND/OR
The sexual behavior or requests make your workplace so "intimidating, hostile, humiliating or sexually offensive" that it gets in the way of you doing your job. This is called "Hostile work environment" sexual harassment.
The term ''sexual harassment'' shall mean sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when (a) submission to or rejection of such advances, requests or conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment or as a basis for employment decisions; (b) such advances, requests or conduct have the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating or sexually offensive work environment. Discrimination on the basis of sex shall include, but not be limited to, sexual harassment.
Q: What are my responsibilities as an employee of the Marblehead Charter School?
A: It is the responsibility of every employee to comply with the policy as written in the most recent copy of the Marblehead Community Charter Public School Faculty and Staff Handbook.
In addition, there are concrete steps that staff can take to promote a respectful and safe climate that creates a culture where harassment and discrimination are unacceptable. Some examples include:
Modeling respectful, tolerant behavior with both colleagues and students.
Making instructional choices that incorporate diverse viewpoints.
Intervening when harassing or discriminatory actions occur.
Promptly reporting information about possible harassment and discrimination to a and administrator or designee.