School Health & Safety

1. Sexual harassment consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
   • • Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individual’s employment, education, academic status, or progress;
     • submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment, educational or academic decisions affecting the individual;
     • the conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment; and/or
     • submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for any decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
2. Sexual harassment may include, but is not limited to:
   • •  Physical assaults of a sexual nature, such as:
     • Rape, sexual battery, molestation or attempts to commit these assaults.
     • Intentional physical conduct that is sexual in nature, such as touching, pinching, patting, grabbing, brushing against another’s body, or poking another’s body.
     • Unwanted sexual advances, propositions or other sexual comments, such as:
       • Sexually oriented gestures, notices, remarks, jokes, or comments about a person’s sexuality or sexual experience.
     •  Preferential treatment or promises of preferential treatment to an individual for submitting to sexual conduct, including soliciting or attempting to solicit any individual to engage in sexual activity for compensation or reward or deferential treatment for rejecting sexual conduct.
     • Subjecting or threats of subjecting a student to unwelcome sexual attention or conduct or intentionally making the student’s academic performance more difficult because of the student’s sex.
3. Sexual or discriminatory displays or publications anywhere in the educational environment, such as:
   • • Displaying pictures, cartoons, posters, calendars, graffiti, objections, promotional materials, reading materials, or other materials that are sexually suggestive, sexually demeaning or pornographic or bringing or possessing any such material to read, display or view in the educational environment.
     • Reading publicly or otherwise publicizing in the educational environment materials that are in any way sexually revealing, sexually suggestive, sexually demeaning or pornographic.
     •  Displaying signs or other materials purporting to segregate an individual by sex in an area of the educational environment (other than restrooms or similar rooms).

Bullying is defined as any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act. Bullying includes one or more acts committed by a student or group of students that may constitute sexual harassment, hate violence, or creates an intimidating and/or hostile educational environment, directed toward one or more students that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:

1. Placing a reasonable pupil* or pupils in fear of harm to that pupil’s or those pupils’ person or property.

2. Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.

3. Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantial interference with his or her academic performance.

4. Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantial interference with his or her ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by Inspire.

* “Reasonable pupil” is defined as a pupil, including, but not limited to, an exceptional needs pupil, who exercises care, skill and judgment in conduct for a person of his or her age, or for a person of his or her age with his or her exceptional needs.

Cyberbullying is an electronic act that includes the transmission of harassing communication, direct threats, or other harmful texts, sounds, or images on the Internet, social media, or other technologies using a telephone, computer, or any wireless communication device. Cyberbullying also includes breaking into another person’s electronic account and assuming that person’s identity in order to damage that person’s reputation.
Electronic act means the creation and transmission originated on or off the school site, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

1. 1. A message, text, sound, video, or image.
   2.  A post on a social network Internet Web site including, but not limited to: a. Posting to or creating a burn page. A “burn page” means an Internet Web site created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects as listed in the definition of “bullying,” above.
   3. Creating a credible impersonation of another actual pupil for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in the definition of “bullying,” above. “Credible impersonation” means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a pupil for the purpose of bullying the pupil and such that another pupil would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the pupil was or is the pupil who was impersonated.
   4.  Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in the definition of “bullying,” above. “False profile” means a profile of a fictitious pupil or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual pupil other than the pupil who created the false profile.

Sexual cyberbullying acts include but are not limited to:

1. 1. The act or intention to distribute a photograph, recording, or other visual media by one student of another student or school personnel with any motive defined in the definition of “bullying” above.   
   2. The act or intention to distribute a photograph or any other visual media, a nude, semi-nude, or sexually explicit representation of a minor where the minor is identifiable from visual received. 

Sexual cyberbullying does not include any depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or school-sanctioned activities.

Notwithstanding the definitions of “bullying” and “electronic act” above, an electronic act shall not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been transmitted on the Internet or is currently posted on the Internet.

For more information and resources about bullying, click here.

1. Prevention Procedures for Cyberbullying

Inspire advises students:

• • To never share passwords, personal data, or private photos online.
  • To think about what they are doing carefully before posting and by emphasizing that comments cannot be retracted once they are posted.
  • That personal information revealed on social media can be shared with anyone including parents, teachers, administrators, and potential employers. Students should never reveal information that would make them uncomfortable if the world had access to it.
  • To consider how it would feel receiving such comments before making comments about others online.

Inspire informs employees, students, and parents/guardians of Inspire’s policies regarding the use of technology in and out of the classroom. Inspire encourages parents/guardians to discuss these policies with their children to ensure their children understand and comply with such policies.

2. Prevention Education

Inspire employees cannot always be present when bullying incidents occur, so educating students about bullying is a key prevention technique to limit bullying from happening. Inspire advises students that hateful and/or demeaning behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable in our society and at Inspire and encourages students to practice compassion and respect each other.

Inspire educates students to accept all student peers regardless of protected characteristics (including but not limited to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identification, physical or cognitive disabilities, race, ethnicity, religion, and immigration status) and about the negative impact of bullying other pupils based on protected characteristics.
Inspire’s bullying prevention education also discusses the differences between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and includes sample situations to help students learn and practice appropriate behavior and to develop techniques and strategies to respond in a non-aggressive way to bullying-type behaviors. Students will also develop confidence and learn how to advocate for themselves and others, and when to go to an adult for help.
Inspire informs Inspire employees, students, and parents/guardians of this Policy and encourages parents/guardians to discuss this Policy with their children to ensure their children understand and comply with this Policy.

3. Professional Development

Inspire annually makes available the online training module developed by the California Department of Education pursuant Education Code section 32283.5(a) to its certificated employees and all other Inspire employees who have regular interaction with pupils.
Inspire informs certificated employees about the common signs that a student is a target of bullying including:

• Physical cuts or injuries
• Lost or broken personal items
• Fear of going to school/practice/games
• Loss of interest in school, activities, or friends
• Trouble sleeping or eating
• Anxious/sick/nervous behavior or distracted appearance
• Self-destructiveness or displays of odd behavior
• Decreased self-esteem

Inspire encourages its employees to demonstrate effective problem-solving, anger management, and self-confidence skills for Inspire’s students.

Survivors of sexual violence or discrimination are in control of what actions, if any, take place after the event. Meaning, it is the victim’s decision whether or not to file a formal complaint. Inspire will offer supportive measures regardless of the victim’s decision.

The school will respond promptly to every Title IX violation. Interim and remedial measures include, but are not limited to, adjustments to an academic schedule, no-contact orders, or attendance reassignments. These are available to survivors regardless of filing a formal complaint or not.

Schools are prohibited from pressuring a victim to report. Only the victim may make the decision to file a formal complaint, or participate in the grievance process. Inspire is obligated to respond promptly when any school employee receives a notice of sexual harassment or sexual assault. All regulations extend to any building owned, or being controlled by the school or student organization, on or off campus.

In the event that the victim chooses to participate in the grievance process, the regulation protects them from inappropriately being asked any questions pertaining to their sexual history. As well, the victim is not required under any circumstance to divulge any medical, psychological, or other HIPAA protected information.

During a hearing, the victim is never required to come face-to-face with the accused individual or group. The accused party is under no circumstance allowed to personally ask the victim any questions. No individual or group may intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against any individual (victim or otherwise) with the intent of interfering with any right or privilege secured by Title IX. This includes any circumstance of regulation implementation, or if the victim filed a report or complaint, or testified, assisted, participated, or refused to participate in subsequent actions covered by Title IX.

All survivors are protected against any form of bullying, harassment, or retaliation whether or not they choose to report sexual misconduct, file a formal complaint, or participate in the grievance process.