Common use of EDUCATIONAL CLIMATE Clause in Contracts

EDUCATIONAL CLIMATE. A. The District will consult with the Equity Consultant to develop one or more school climate surveys for all students in grades 6-12 and all staff to assess the presence and effect of harassment, including sex -based harassment, at each school in the District. The District may create separate, age-appropriate surveys for middle and high school students. The District will consult with the Equity Consultant to develop a separate, age-appropriate school climate survey for students in grades K-5 to assess the inclusiveness and safety of the elementary school environment for all students. Student surveys will be designed and administered consistent with the requirements of California Education Code § 51513. It is the intent of the parties that the student surveys will include no content that would result in the application of California Education Code § 51513. Surveys administered to teachers will be designed and administered consistent with the requirements of California Education Code § 49091.24. 1. The student and staff surveys will be administered in the month of October 2011, the month of April 2012, and annually thereafter in the month of April, and will allow for respondents to answer the survey anonymously. 2. The District will submit an analysis of the results of the survey prepared by the Equity Consultant to the United States within sixty (60) calendar days of the date the surveys are administered for each year this Agreement is in force. The analysis will include recommendations for the climate issues identified through the surveys. 3. Based on a review of the results of the climate surveys and the recommendations of the Equity Consultant, the District will work together in good faith with the Equity Consultant to agree on appropriate corrective actions by the District to address all climate issues related to harassment, including sex -based harassment, identified through the surveys and the Equity Consultant’s analysis. The District will implement the agreed upon actions and notify the United States of its actions. B. In conjunction with the Equity Consultant’s assessment and analysis described in ¶ IV.A., the Equity Consultant will assess whether each school should designate a staffed “safe space” location that is available for all students. If the Equity Consultant recommends the creation of such a location, the District will: 1. ensure that the designated locations are supervised by teachers or staff who have been trained on the District’s revised policies and regulations and who have the necessary training and expertise to recognize and respond to all forms of discrimination and harassment, including sex - based harassment; 2. notify all parents, students, and employees at each respective school in writing, on the District’s website, and through prominently displayed posters of the availability, location, and hours of operation of the designated location; 3. verify in a written statement to the United States that the designated locations have been created; the date and hours the locations it will be operational; the location and description of the space; the name and title of all employees who will staff the designated location; the date that each individual was trained on the District’s revised policies and regulations; and the manner in which notice of the staffed location was provided to students, parents, and employees; and 4. annually reevaluate, in consultation with the Equity Consultant, whether students use the designated locations and whether they are effective in improving the climate for students who have experienced and/or are concerned about harassment, including sex -based harassment. C. Within thirty (30) school days of the start of the 2011-2012 school year, the District will form an Advisory Committee (“Committee”) that includes a District- level administrator, one administrator each from Xxxxxxxx Middle School and Tehachapi High School, at least two students each from Xxxxxxxx Middle School and Tehachapi High School, at least three parents of students who attend those schools, and other individuals that the District determines appropriate, such as representatives from relevant community-based organizations, to advise the District regarding how best to xxxxxx a positive educational climate free of sexual and gender-based harassment. The District will consider the recommendations of the Equity Consultant when determining the composition and functions of the Committee. 1. The District will designate an employee to coordinate the Committee’s meetings and work (“Committee Coordinator”). 2. The Committee will meet a minimum of two (2) times each semester. 3. The Committee will maintain documentation of the date and duration of each meeting and notes from the meeting. 4. The Committee Coordinator will prepare a written summary of the recommendations and suggestions of the Committee, including but not limited to: a. strategies for preventing harassment and ensuring that District students understand their right to be protected from discrimination, including sexual and gender-based harassment, and to be protected from retaliation for reporting alleged discrimination; b. strategies to ensure that students understand how to report possible violations of the policies, regulations, and internal guidance related to harassment, including sex -based harassment, and that students are aware of the District’s obligation to promptly and effectively respond to complaints alleging harassment; and c. specific suggestions for developing an effective student orientation program that promotes respect and tolerance for others and takes steps reasonably designed to prevent the creation of a hostile environment, with an emphasis on sex -based harassment, including what role students can play in the orientation program. 5. The Committee will recommend outreach strategies to families related to the District’s anti-harassment program. D. At each school with locker room facilities, the District will designate employees to monitor the locker rooms during all changing times for physical education and after-school activities. The designated employees will be trained on sexual and gender-based harassment and the District’s policies and regulations. E. The District will accommodate any student who, out of concern about harassment, wishes to change his or her clothes for physical education classes and after-school activities in an alternative private space or during an alternative changing time. 1. The District will provide the alternative changing space or time in a manner which protects the student’s confidentiality, minimizes stigmatization, and affords the student an equal opportunity to participate fully in physical education classes and athletic activities. 2. The District will provide parents and students with written notification of the availability of, and instructions on how to make a request for, these accommodations. F. The District will develop a monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of its anti-harassment efforts. At the conclusion of each school year, the District will conduct an annual assessment of the effectiveness of its anti-harassment efforts. Such assessment will include: 1. Consultation with the Committee established pursuant to item ¶ IV.C. above; 2. Student and parent surveys (see ¶ IV.A above) and at least one public meeting (see ¶ I.E. above) each school year to identify student and parent concerns and to determine where and when sexual and gender-based harassment occurs; 3. A review of all reports of harassment and District responses (see ¶ II.A. above); 4. Evaluation and analysis of the data collected, including a disaggregated assessment of whether the reported incidents of harassment have increased or decreased in number and severity; 5. Evaluation of all measures designed to prevent or address sexual and gender-based harassment to ensure that they do not expose students to further harassment, unnecessarily restrict any student’s full access to all educational opportunities offered by the school, or result in disciplinary actions for any student who opts to utilize one or more of the accommodations provided to students concerned about harassment; and 6. Proposed recommendations for improvement of the District’s anti- harassment program and timelines for the implementation of the recommendations. G. Based on the Letter of Finding issued by the United States, District policies and procedures, the terms of this Agreement, and any other relevant information in the District’s possession, the District, within sixty (60) calendar days of the execution of this Agreement, will conduct an investigation to determine whether any employee, including but not limited to the Principal and former Vice Principal of Xxxxxxxx Middle School, and the teachers assigned to the Student’s Middle School Physical Education classes, should be subject to corrective action because those employees had notice of the harassment of the Student and failed to take timely and appropriate action. The District will notify the United States of its findings and actions.