County Office of Education: Are Schools Doing Enough to Address Sexual Harassment?*

It is unclear when or if the county school districts provide student training on recognizing sexual harassment and how to report it. We are an elementary school district serving Transitional Kindergarten to Eighth grade students, therefore, student training on recognizing sexual harassment varies based on the age of the student. For primary grade students, generalized discussions take place in the classroom setting regarding personal space, privacy and protecting one's own body. Students in primary grades are taught to find a trusted adult to report needs and concerns. Through our adopted Social Emotional Learning curriculum harassment in general is addressed. This curriculum is taught by both the classroom teacher and the school counselor at each campus. Beginning at grade five into middle school, students receive a more comprehensive instruction in regard to health education including sexual health education. As part of the Positive Prevention Plus Curriculum used for 5^th grade at the Charles Brown Learning Academy and Herbert Green Middle School. Sexual Harassment and proper boundaries are part of this curriculum. All classified and certificated staff members are trained annually on how to recognize signs of sexual harassment and potential abuse. With this training, staff is aware in monitoring unusual changes in student behavior indicating a student may have experienced sexual harassment or sexual abuse. In conjunction, staff are trained on how to appropriately respond and access support for identified students. Students, families, and staff are trained annually to use We Tip, an anonymous online/call system to report incidents that endanger the health, safety and/or wellbeing of oneself or others.

EDCOE and County School District Websites are out of compliance with Title IX requirements The Mother Lode Union School District does agree with this finding. While the district does link non- discrimination policy, complaint procedures, and coordinator contact information on its website, navigating and finding this information through a simple Title IX search is difficult. RECOMMENDATION