HARASSMENT POLICY
Statesville Christian School (“the school”) is committed to providing a work environment that is free of discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, the school maintains a strict policy prohibiting unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment. It is important for employees to understand that jokes, stories, cartoons, nicknames, and comments about appearance may be offensive to others. Sexual harassment of employees by supervisors, co-workers, or vendors is prohibited. Unlawful sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
● submission to the conduct is made a condition of employment
● submission to or rejection of the conduct is used as the basis for an employment decision affecting the harassed employee; or
● the harassment has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an employee's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
Examples of sexual harassment include unwelcome sexual flirtations, advances, or propositions; verbal abuse of a sexual
nature; subtle pressure or requests for sexual activities; unnecessary touching of an individual; graphic comments about an
individual's body; a display in the workplace of sexually suggestive objects or pictures; sexually explicit or offensive jokes;
or physical assault.
SCS reserves the right to operate according to its sincerely held religious beliefs about biblical marriage and sexuality and
therefore does not define “harassment” as including any enforcement of, or adherence to, its biblical principles and
expectations in the areas of marriage, and sexuality, dress, and discipline.
If an employee believes that he or she is being, or has been, harassed in any way, he/she should report the facts of the incident or incidents to the administrator immediately, without fear of reprisal. In determining whether the alleged conduct constitutes unlawful harassment, the totality of the circumstances, such as the nature of the conduct and the context in which the alleged incident occurred, will be investigated.
Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE
In a time when the public and the courts are highly sensitive to issues of child abuse, do not give anyone an occasion to falsely accuse you of any impropriety or indiscretion. The safety and well-being of the child are of primary concern. Any suspected abuse should be reported to the Head of School, who will assist you in determining if there is sufficient evidence to support a report to DSS. Improper implication of a parent is a serious matter. Failure to report when warranted is even more serious.
THE LAW
The Director of the Department of Social Services in each county of the State shall establish protective services for juveniles alleged to be abused, neglected, or dependent.
Protective services shall include the investigation and screening of complaints, casework, or other counseling services to parents or other caretakers as provided by the Director to help the parents or other caretakers and the court to prevent abuse or neglect, to improve the quality of childcare, to be more adequate parents or caretakers, and to preserve and stabilize family life.
The provisions of this Article shall also apply to day-care facilities and day-care plans as defined in North Carolina General Statutes110-86 (1979, c.8815, s.1; 1981, c.359, s.1).
Any person or institution that has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused or neglected shall report the case of that juvenile to the Director of the Department of Social Services in the county where the juvenile resides or is found. The report may be made orally, by telephone, or in writing. The report shall include information as is known to the person making it including the name and address of the juvenile; the caretaker; the age of the juvenile; the present whereabouts of the juvenile if not at the home address; the nature and extent of any injury or condition resulting from abuse or neglect and any other information which the person making the report believes might be helpful in establishing the need for protective services or court intervention. If the report is made orally or by telephone, the person making the report shall give his or her name,
address, and telephone number. Refusal of the person making the report to give his or her name shall not preclude the Department's investigation of the alleged abuse or neglect.
In the case of any report of abuse, the Director of Social Service, upon receipt of the report, may immediately provide the appropriate local law-enforcement agency to investigate the report, and upon request of the Director of the Department of
Social Services, the law enforcement agency shall provide assistance with the investigation.
In an action for malicious prosecution, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence brought by a substitute teacher against a school system, the school system was held not liable for a Principal's reporting student complaints to the Department of Social Services as directed by G.S. 115C-400; evidence established that the Principal's reports were an accurate representation of the student's complaints, and the Principal clearly acted in good faith.
Abuse is defined as including any non-accidental injury, sexual battery, financial or sexual exploitation or injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity of a person by the parents or other persons responsible for the child's welfare.
North Carolina law requires that every suspected case of child abuse be reported to the authorities.
What should I do if I suspect abuse or neglect?
The administrator should be contacted immediately. All teachers and staff are required to inform the administrator when there is reason to believe that a child has been abused or neglected. The administrator shall then make a report of the pertinent details to the authorities.
If a report is received implicating a school employee in child abuse, the administrator is required by law to make a report to the authorities. He is not required to carry out an in-house investigation but to leave such to the authorities. Upon making such a report, the administrator has the option to immediately suspend the employee with or without pay.
What are the legal implications of reporting?
A person reporting cannot be sued nor can his or her name be divulged. Should the case actually proceed to court, the teacher or administrator may be subpoenaed to testify as a witness, but not as the reporter. However, very few cases actually go to court.
Staff/Student Interactions
Teachers, coaches, and non-teaching staff (all employees and volunteers) are expected to avoid any one-on-one interactions that could provide an opportunity for misconduct of an adult toward a child. At no time may an employee or volunteer be in a closed room one on one with a student if there is not a glass window in the door and the seating arrangement is not in clear view of the window. Coaches may not work one-on-one in the gym, weight room, or even on outside fields unless there are other adults within sight of the activity. Staff should avoid any appearance of excessive attention, special favors, including gifts, comments, or anything that could be construed as inappropriate adult-student interaction. We are committed to a high level of care and concern for our students, but we will act with professionalism and integrity, making certain there is no
misunderstanding or hint of grooming students toward an improper physical or emotional relationship.