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School Board Journal
May / June, 1996

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1995 school district policies in DuPage County
School districts respond to sexual harassment

By IRENE BECK and CHARLOTTE CRAWFORD

Sexual harassment takes an enormous toll on the ability of students to benefit from their educational experience. Girls are negatively affected far more than boys. Of those targeted by sexual harassment, 23 percent of students reported not wanting to attend school; nearly one out of four girls said that harassment caused them to stay home from school or cut a class. Twenty-three percent reported that they participated less in class after such an experience.

Policy survey

AAUW Illinois, Inc. (AAUW-IL) has worked with educators, parents and other community groups across the state on gender equity and sexual harassment prevention issues for youth. In one school district, administrators, when asked, thought their district had a sexual harassment policy in place, only to discover that they were mistaken. In other instances where a sexual harassment policy does exist, school staff do not know how to implement it, what reporting procedures accompany it, or in what particular situations it applies.

In October, 1995, AAUW-IL conducted a survey of DuPage County school districts which are members of the Illinois Association of School Boards. The purpose of the survey was to determine if school districts have adopted a sexual harassment policy and the extent to which they have educated their staff and students about it. The data comprise surveys from 31 of 43 districts, a 72 percent response rate. The results are heartening and revealing.

The data in Table 1 indicate that the school districts are responding to the sexual harassment issue at the policy level. Ninety-seven percent of the responding districts reported that they have adopted a formal sexual harassment policy. Nine out of ten say they review and revise the policy periodically. Eighty-seven percent indicate that their policy covers all forms of sexual harassment: student/student, staff/student, student/staff and staff/staff. Almost 97 percent indicate that reports of sexual harassment by students and/or staff are taken seriously.

The data in Table 2 show that the number providing staff training to implement the policy is high, but not as widespread as policy adoption. Eight out of ten districts have trained their counselors to work with both perpetrators and targets of sexual harassment and seven out of ten districts have trained their teachers to identify and handle sexual harassment. This indicates that teachers are not receiving as much training as counselors, who usually focus on the consequences of harassment. However, teachers are more likely than counselors to encounter student/student sexual harassment on a daily basis and need adequate training to deal effectively with it.

Although policy adoption rates are high and staff training rates trail closely behind, the data in Table 3 indicate that the districts do not respond as aggressively by providing student education. Eighty percent of the districts report that they have distributed and reviewed their sexual harassment policy with staff and students. Nine out of ten districts report that they have informed parents of the existence of the policy. However, only 60 percent include this policy in the student handbook. Thirty-eight percent indicate that a student handout about sexual harassment is available and only one-third of the responding districts offer students an educational component on the prevention of sexual harassment.

Public awareness of sexual harassment in school has risen in recent years and many school districts have responded to this change. The survey shows that approximately two-thirds of the districts in the sexual harassment policies have adopted them since 1991.

Prevention

The survey data show that most of the school districts have adopted a policy but many are not educating their students about sexual harassment. In order for such a policy to be effective, it must be accompanied by awareness training and educational opportunities for staff, students and parents. If schools are to stop sexual harassment, students need to be taught how to prevent it from happening.

Most of the harassment occurs among students and most students who are targeted do not report these incidents. However, many students are negatively affected by them and opportunities to learn in a safe environment are impaired.

Students need to express their concerns and learn effective ways to handle harassment. Many do not know the boundaries of acceptable school behavior. Others are unclear about which kinds of harassment require reporting, who on the school staff they should approach and what the consequences of filing a complaint will be. Many staff and students are concerned about the possibility of false or frivolous charges.

Beyond adopting and reviewing a sexual harassment policy which specifically addresses topics such as consequences of harassment, false charges and non-retaliation protection, school districts can:

• Include the sexual harassment policy and procedures in student handbooks.
  
• Train all staff, educate students, and inform parents about the policy and procedures.
  
• Help students determine what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviors at school.
  
• Ensure that students know who to approach at school with sexual harassment concerns; communicate that the school will effectively handle any such information.
  
• Work with all staff to ensure that their messages to students are positive and direct about tolerance and respect for self and others.

Irene Beck is an educational journalist and consultant. Charlotte Crawford is a consultant and was a school board member for nine years. They are the author and editor of Expect Respect, a sexual harassment curriculum for high school, and Let me Tell You, a collection of real stories about gender bias and sexual harassment. They also co-chair the AAUW Illinois, inc. Initiative for Educational Equity.