Title IX, Nondiscrimination and Harassment
Nondiscrimination Statement
The Napa Valley School District is committed to equal opportunity for all individuals and does not allow discrimination, intimidation, harassment, including sexual harassment, or bullying based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, nationality/national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification/ethnicity, age, religion, marital status/ pregnancy/ parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, medical information or association with a person or group with one of more of these actual or perceived characteristics, affiliation with Scouting America and other designated youth groups, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, ordinance, or regulation, in employment and any program or activity it conducts or to which it provides significant assistance. For questions or complaints, contact our District Equity Officer and District Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator for Employee Affairs: Dana Page, Assistant Superintendent Human Resources, 2425 Jefferson St., Napa CA 94558, 707-253-3571, dpage@nvusd.org, HR@nvusd.org; and/or District Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator for Student Affairs: District Section 504/ADA Coordinator: Rupi Bhatti, Director of Student Services, 2425 Jefferson St., Napa CA 94558, rupi_bhatti@nvusd.org, studentservices@nvusd.org, 707-253-3815.
For complaints related to
employees contact:
Napa Valley Unified School District Equity Officer
District Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator for Employee Affairs
Dana Page
Assistant Superintendent Human Resources
Napa Valley Unified School District
2425 Jefferson St., Napa, CA 94558
For complaints related to
students contact:
District Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator for Student Affairs; Title II/ADA Coordinator;
District Section 504 Coordinator
Rupi Bhatti
Director of Student Services
Napa Valley Unified School District
2425 Jefferson St., Napa, CA 94558
More Information
General Complaints
General Complaints involve concerns that are not covered by the Uniform Complaint Procedures. These complaints are typically handled at the school or department level first. If the issue cannot be resolved, the complaint may be escalated to the appropriate district administrator.
- These may include:
- School-level communication or customer service
- Instructional practices or student support
- Staff behavior or professionalism
- Safety or facility concerns that are not urgent or hazardous
- General dissatisfaction with programs or services
General Complaints are reviewed and processed by the department most closely connected to the concern, such as the school principal, Student Services, Human Resources, or another district leader.
State law requires notices be posted in each classroom in the district and complaint forms be available at each school regarding whether 1) there are sufficient textbooks and instructional materials available, 2) school facilities are clean, safe, and maintained in good repair, 3) or teacher vacancies exist or teachers are misassigned at the school. A complaint about any of these issues is called a “Williams” complaint after the name of a statewide lawsuit alleging inadequacies in schools. Parents/Guardians should contact their student’s school principal if the notice is not posted or to obtain a complaint form to file a formal Williams complaint. AR 1312.4.
Uniform Complaint Procedures
The Napa Valley Unified School District has primary responsibility to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations governing educational programs. The District’s Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) are used to investigate and seek to resolve any complaints alleging:
- failure to comply with state or federal laws regarding adult basic education, consolidated categorical aid programs, migrant education, vocational education, child care and development programs, child nutrition programs and special education programs and the development and adoption of a school safety plan;
- unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying based on actual or perceived characteristics of race or ethnicity, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information, or any other characteristic identified in Education Code 200 or 220, Penal Code 422.55, or Government Code 11135, or based on association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
- failure to comply with the prohibition against requiring unlawful students to pay fees, deposits, or other charges for participation in educational activities.
Complaints will be investigated and resolved within 60 days of the District’s receipt of the complaint. Complaints alleging discrimination must be filed within six (6) months from alleged occurrence or when knowledge was first obtained.
The Governing Board has designated individuals as the District Compliance Officer/Title IX Coordinators, District Section 504/ADA Coordinator, and school site coordinators, to receive and investigate complaints and to ensure district compliance with law. View the List
The District's Uniform Complaint Annual Notice and Procedures are specified in Board policy and regulations BP 1312.3 and are also available free of charge in the NVUSD Office of Human Resources, and at each school office.
Students
The Board of Education is committed to maintaining a safe school environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. The Board prohibits, at school or at school-sponsored or school-related activities, sexual harassment targeted at any student by anyone. The Board also prohibits retaliatory behavior or action against any person who reports, files a complaint or testifies about, or otherwise supports a complainant in alleging sexual harassment.
The district strongly encourages any student who feels that he/she is being or has been sexually harassed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored or school-related activity by another student or an adult, or who has experienced off-campus sexual harassment that has a continuing effect on campus to immediately contact his/her teacher, the principal, or any other available school employee. Any employee who receives a report or observes an incident of sexual harassment shall notify the principal or a district compliance officer. Once notified, the principal or compliance officer shall take the steps to investigate and address the allegation, as specified in the accompanying administrative regulation.
- (cf. 0410 - Nondiscrimination in District Programs and Activities)
- (cf. 1312.1 - Complaints Concerning District Employees)
- (cf. 5131 - Conduct)
- (cf. 5131.2 - Bullying)
- (cf. 5137 - Positive School Climate)
- (cf. 5141.4 - Child Abuse Prevention and Reporting)
- (cf. 5145.3 - Nondiscrimination/Harassment)
- (cf. 6142.1 - Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Instruction)
The Superintendent or designee shall take appropriate actions to reinforce the district's sexual harassment policy.
Instruction/Information
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that all district students receive age-appropriate information on sexual harassment. Such instruction and information shall include:
1. What acts and behavior constitute sexual harassment, including the fact that sexual harassment could occur between people of the same sex and could involve sexual violence
2. A clear message that students do not have to endure sexual harassment under any circumstance
3. Encouragement to report observed incidents of sexual harassment even where the alleged victim of the harassment has not complained
4. A clear message that student safety is the district's primary concern, and that any separate rule violation involving an alleged victim or any other person reporting a manner in which the sexual harassment complaint will be received, investigated, or resolved
5. A clear message that, regardless of a complainant's noncompliance with the writing, timeline, or other formal filing requirements, every sexual harassment allegation that involves a student, whether as the complainant, respondent, or victim of the harassment, shall be investigated and prompt action shall be taken to stop any harassment, prevent recurrence, and address any continuing effect on students
6. Information about the district's procedure for investigating complaints and the person(s) to whom a report of sexual harassment should be made
7. Information about the rights of students and parents/guardians to file a civil or criminal complaint, as applicable, including the right to file a civil or criminal complaint while the district investigation of a sexual harassment complaint continues
8. A clear message that, when needed, the district will take interim measures to ensure a safe school environment for a student who is the complainant or victim of sexual harassment and/or other students during an investigation and that, to the extent possible, when such interim measures are taken, they shall not disadvantage the complainant or victim of the alleged harassment
Complaint Process and Disciplinary Actions
Sexual harassment complaints by and against students shall be investigated and resolved in accordance with law and district procedures specified in AR 1312.3 - Uniform Complaint Procedures. Principals are responsible for notifying students and parents/guardians that complaints of sexual harassment can be filed under AR 1312.3 and where to obtain a copy of the procedures.
- (cf. 1312.3 - Uniform Complaint Procedures)
Upon investigation of a sexual harassment complaint, any student found to have engaged in sexual harassment or sexual violence in violation of this policy shall be subject to disciplinary action. For students in grades 4-12, disciplinary action may include suspension and/or expulsion, provided that, in imposing such discipline, the entire circumstances of the incident(s) shall be taken into account.
- (cf. 5144 - Discipline)
- (cf. 5144.1 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process)
- (cf. 5144.2 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process (Students with Disabilities))
Upon investigation of a sexual harassment complaint, any employee found to have engaged in sexual harassment or sexual violence toward any student shall have his/her employment terminated in accordance with law and the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
- (cf. 4117.7/4317.7 - Employment Status Report)
- (cf. 4118 - Dismissal/Suspension/Disciplinary Action)
- (cf. 4218 - Dismissal/Suspension/Disciplinary Action)
- (cf. 4119.11/4219.11/4319.11 - Sexual Harassment)
Record-Keeping
The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a record of all reported cases of sexual harassment to enable the district to monitor, address, and prevent repetitive harassing behavior in district schools.
- (cf. 3580 - District Records)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
200-262.4 Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex
48900 Grounds for suspension or expulsion
48900.2 Additional grounds for suspension or expulsion; sexual harassment
48904 Liability of parent/guardian for willful student misconduct
48980 Notice at beginning of term
CIVIL CODE
51.9 Liability for sexual harassment; business, service and professional relationships
1714.1 Liability of parents/guardians for willful misconduct of minor
GOVERNMENT CODE
12950.1 Sexual harassment training
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
4600-4670 Uniform complaint procedures
4900-4965 Nondiscrimination in elementary and secondary education programs
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
1221 Application of laws
1232g Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
1681-1688 Title IX, discrimination
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 42
1983 Civil action for deprivation of rights
2000d-2000d-7 Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964
2000e-2000e-17 Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended
CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, TITLE 34
99.1-99.67 Family Educational Rights and Privacy
106.1-106.71 Nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in education programs
COURT DECISIONS
Donovan v. Poway Unified School District, (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 567
Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified School District, (2003, 9th Cir.) 324 F.3d 1130
Reese v. Jefferson School District, (2001, 9th Cir.) 208 F.3d 736
Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, (1999) 526 U.S. 629
Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, (1998) 524 U.S. 274
Oona by Kate S. v. McCaffrey, (1998, 9th Cir.) 143 F.3d 473
Doe v. Petaluma City School District, (1995, 9th Cir.) 54 F.3d 1447
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Providing a Safe, Nondiscriminatory School Environment for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Students, Policy Brief, February 2014
Safe Schools: Strategies for Governing Boards to Ensure Student Success, 2011
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS PUBLICATIONS
Q&A on Campus Sexual Misconduct, September 2017
Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students, May 2016
Dear Colleague Letter: Title IX Coordinators, April 2015
Sexual Harassment: It's Not Academic, September 2008
Revised Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by School Employees, Other Students, or Third Parties, January 2001
WEB SITES
California Department of Education: http://www.cde.ca.gov
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr
Policy NAPA VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: June 13, 2019, Napa, California