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5020PROHIBITION OF SEX DISCRIMINATION, INCLUDING SEX-BASED HARASSMENT (STUDENTS)

The Meriden Board of Education (the “Board”) and Meriden Public Schools (the “District”) do not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibit sex discrimination in any education program or activity that the Board and/or District operate, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq. and its implementing regulations (“Title IX”), as it may be amended from time to time, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), and Connecticut law.

Inquiries about Title IX may be referred to the District’s Title IX Coordinator, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or both. The District’s Title IX Coordinator is:

District Title IX Coordinator (Students) 

Patricia Sullivan-Kowalski, Assistant Superintendent of Student Supports

22 Liberty Street, Meriden, CT 06450

203 630-4177

patricia.sullivan@meridenk12.org

The Superintendent of Schools shall develop and adopt grievance procedures that provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints made (1) by students, employees, or other individuals who are participating or attempting to participate in the District’s education program or activity, or (2) by the Title IX Coordinator, alleging any action that would be prohibited by Title IX, Title VII, or Connecticut law (the “Administrative Regulations”). The Administrative Regulations are located on the Meriden Public Schools website under Policies 5020R as well as Equity Instruction: Title IX MPS Title IX Information.

Sex discrimination occurs when a person, because of the person’s sex, is denied participation in or the benefits of any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. This includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Sex discrimination includes sex-based harassment, as defined below. 

 

Sex-based harassment is a form of sex discrimination and means sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity, that is: 

  1.  Quid pro quo harassment, or where an employee, agent or other person authorized by the Board to provide an aid, benefit or services under its education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditions the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the Board on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct; 
  2. Hostile environment harassment, or unwelcome sex-based conduct that based on the totality of the circumstances, is (1) subjectively and objectively offensive and (2) so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the District’s education program or activity. Whether a hostile environment has been created is a fact-specific inquiry that includes consideration of the following:
    1. the degree to which the conduct affected the complainant’s ability to access the District’s education program or activity; 
    2. the type, frequency, and duration of the conduct; 
    3. the parties’ ages, roles within the District’s education program or activity, previous interactions, and other factors about each party that may be relevant to evaluating the effects of the conduct; 
    4. the location of the conduct and the context in which the conduct occurred; and 
    5. other sex-based harassment in the District’s education program or activity; or
  3. A specific offense, as follows: 
    1. Sexual assault, meaning an offense classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
    2. Dating violence, meaning violence committed by a person: (i) who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and (ii) where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors: the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship;
    3. Domestic violence, meaning felony or misdemeanor crimes committed by a person who: (i) is a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim under the family or domestic violence laws of Connecticut, or a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim; (ii) is cohabitating, or has cohabitated, with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; (iii) shares a child in common with the victim; or (iv) commits acts against a youth or adult victim who is protected from those acts under the family or domestic violence laws of Connecticut; or
    4. Stalking, meaning engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: (i) fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or (ii) suffer substantial emotional distress. 

 

Reporting Sex Discrimination:

The following people have a right to make a complaint of sex discrimination, including a complaint of sex-based harassment, requesting that the District investigate and make a determination about alleged discrimination under Title IX:

  1. A “complainant,” which includes:
    1. a student of the District or employee of the Board who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX; or
    2. a person other than a student of the District or employee of the Board who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX at a time when that individual was participating or attempting to participate in the Board’s education program or activity;

 

  1. A parent, guardian, or other authorized legal representative with the legal right to act on behalf of a complainant; and

 

  1. The District’s Title IX Coordinator.

For clarity, a person is entitled to make a complaint of sex-based harassment only if they themselves are alleged to have been subjected to the sex-based harassment, if they have a legal right to act on behalf of such person, or if the Title IX Coordinator initiates a complaint consistent with the requirements of Title IX.

With respect to complaints of sex discrimination other than sex-based harassment, in addition to the people listed above, the following persons have a right to make a complaint: 

  • Any student of the District or employee of the Board; or 
  • Any person other than a student of the District or employee of the Board who was participating or attempting to participate in the Board’s education program or activity at the time of the alleged sex discrimination. 

 

To report information about conduct that may constitute sex discrimination or make a complaint of sex discrimination under Title IX, please contact the District’s Title IX Coordinator or an administrator.

Any Board employee who has information about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination must as immediately as practicable notify the Title IX Coordinator. If the Title IX Coordinator is alleged to have engaged in sex discrimination, Board employees shall instead notify their building principal or the Superintendent of Schools, if the employee is not assigned to a school building. 

Individuals may also make a report of sex discrimination to the U.S. Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights, Boston Office, U.S. Department of Education, 9th Floor, 5 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109-3921 (Telephone (617) 289-0111) and/or to the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, 450 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford, CT 06103-1835 (Telephone: 860-541-3400 or Connecticut Toll Free Number: 1-800-477-5737).

 

Legal References: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 34 C.F.R § 106.1, et seq.

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)

Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986)

Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 (1998)

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999)

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Policy Guidance on Current Issues of Sexual Harassment (N-915.050), March 19, 1990

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-15c - Discrimination in public schools prohibited. 

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-54 - Commission powers Connecticut 

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-60 - Discriminatory employment practices prohibited

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-81c - Sexual orientation discrimination: Employment

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-153 - Discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity or expression or marital status prohibited

Conn. Agencies Regs. §§ 46a-54-200 through § 46a-54-207

Brittell v. Department of Correction, 247 Conn. 148 (1998)

Fernandez v. Mac Motors, Inc., 205 Conn. App. 669 (2021)

                    

 

ADOPTED:  November 6, 2013

AMENDED:  April 20, 2021

AMENDED: October 15, 2024

 

Approved 10/15/2024
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