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Topic: Sexual Violence Prevention and Response

Professional Prospective: High school Guidance Counselor

Field of Education: Masters of Education in Guidance & Counseling

Audience: Teachers/Counselors

Reason for topic: In society today there has been cases of student-student and teacher-student sexual violence cases. Also, because we currently live in a time where more people are exploring and embracing their sexuality, sexual violence is more prevalent. Because of this increase, teachers/counselors should be educated on the effects of sexual violence, how to identify the signs, and how to properly and effectively assist a student.

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Question 1: Why is Sexual Violence Prevention and Response important in your field of education or how it is impacting your field of education?

Response: “I have seen more accounts of sexual violence from families and care-givers than I have from student to student.  I believe that this is because we implemented sexual violence training with our high school teachers/staff and had classroom presentations in our English classes along with posters around our school.  I feel that this was very important because we were able to lessen our number of sexual violence student-student cases.  I also feel that this was very important as a school counselor because students were able to identify situations from their past or current situations in their homes that were not positive and come forward to report cases of sexual violence.”

Question 2: Best practices related to Sexual Violence Prevention and Response?

Response: “The best three practices related to Sexual Violence Prevention and Response is training teachers to be your eyes and ears, teaching students the signs of sexual violence and how to react and how to get help, propaganda around our school to reinforce training.”

Question 3: An area emerging issue related to Sexual Violence Prevention and Response on that educators should watch to see how it plays out and impacts your work?

Response: “My current school is very open with our LBGTQ+ students and community.  When speaking about sexual violence we have to be aware of the correct approach to all students and we cannot infer gender norms.  We have to make sure that our LBGTQ+ community is protected from any form of sexual violence (from a significant other or a hate crime).  Sexual violence and LBGTQ+ has always been around, but I feel that help to end this violence is emerging now more than ever.”

Question 4:

Name: Megan Fellows

Title: School Counselor/Gifted Teacher

School: NeoCity Academy, Osceola County Schools, FL

Link: https://neoc.osceolaschools.net/

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What to Do To Stop Sexual Harassment at School ???
Link: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov93/vol51/num03/What-to-Do-To-Stop-Sexual-Harassment-at-School.aspx

Name of Article: What to Do To Stop Sexual Harassment at School

Citation: Mentell, E. J. (1993). What to do to stop sexual harassment at school. Journal of Character Education, 51(3), pp. 96-97. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov93/vol51/num03/What-to-Do-To-Stop-Sexual-Harassment-at-School.aspx

Summary: The journal is relevant to my topic because it discusses guidelines for administrators to preserve appropriate learning environments and steps to help eliminate sexual violence and harassment. Counselors should empower and encourage teachers to stand against inappropriate name calling and sexual comments. Last, teachers should educate students to seek help from teachers, counselors, or administrators because harassment and sexual violence is not their fault, nor a reflection of the bullied or abused student (Mentell, 1993).

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News Article: Chicago Public Schools violated Title IX for 'systemic failure' to address student sexual violence claims

Citation: Modan, N. (2019). Chicago public schools violated Title IX for 'systemic failure' to address student sexual violence claims. Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/Chicago-public-schools-violated-title-ix-for-systemic-failure-to-address/562825/

Link: https://www.educationdive.com/news/chicago-public-schools-violated-title-ix-for-systemic-failure-to-address/562825/

Summary:

U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) stated Chicago Public Schools (CPS) failed to correctly respond to complaints of sexual assault and abuse (Modan, 2019).

CPS did not provide services and remedies for complaints, did not notify victims of investigation outcomes, and failed to provide a safe environment for students (Modan, 2019).

The district failed to appoint a Title IX district coordinator between 1999 and 2016, as a result the district created a Title IX team, including an officer. Also, all staff members, volunteers, and coaches background has been rechecked and will receive annual mandatory training pertaining to sexual assault, harassment, and violence (Modan, 2019).

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News Article: Reports of sexual assault at schools on the rise, but the reasons are unclear

Citation: Harper, A. (2019). Reports of sexual assault at schools on the rise, but the reasons are unclear. Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/reports-of-sexual-assault-at-schools-on-the-rise-but-the-reasons-are-uncle/560112/

Link: https://www.educationdive.com/news/reports-of-sexual-assault-at-schools-on-the-rise-but-the-reasons-are-uncle/560112/

Summary:

The National Center for Educations Statistics' (NCES) report exposes 5.2% of the 2,762 K-12 schools completing the survey for 2017-18 reported at least one incident of sexual assault other than rape, compared with 3.4% in 2015-16 (Harper, 2019).

The American Association of University Women reported incidents of sexual assault are under reported, as some school officials still lack the training or the desire to distinguish sexual violence or bullying from reports of bullying in genera (Harper, 2019).

Because sexual harassment and assault is an increasing problem at K-12 schools, it is also a good place to teach proper behavior and responses for teachers and staff members. There are many states who have policies regarding teaching sex education, though less than half require the teaching of sexual consent. Though it is not required by all states, this teaching is not prohibited and should be an important part of any sex education discussion (Harper, 2019).

Teachers and administrators also need education about sexual harassment and Title IX regulations so they are prepared to deal with the increase in reporting.

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Source of Law: Administrative Law

Citation: FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99)

Link: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

Law and the legal requirements:

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

Schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record, unless the information released is directory information. Therefore, in cases of sexual violence, schools may not disclose any information pertaining to the student and their privacy.

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Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)

Source of Law: Statutory Law

Citation: CAPTA (42 U.S.C. §  5101–5116i-67)

Link: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2017-title42/html/USCODE-2017-title42-chap67.htm

Law and the legal requirements:

CAPTA is a law that provides federal funding to US states in support of prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution, and treatment activities and provides grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for demonstration programs and projects. Additionally, it identifies the federal role in supporting research, evaluation, technical assistance, and data collection activities.

CAPTA helps states strengthen the efforts of child protective service agencies to prevent and treat child abuse. By providing states and local communities with new tools to identify and treat abuse and neglect.

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Senate Bill 401

Source of Law: Statutory Law

Citation: (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-143)

Link: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20172018/SB/401

Law and the legal requirements:

SB 401 is a law pertaining to age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention. This law requires all public schools to implement age appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education for students.

Lawmakers created this law using what's known as "Erin's Law" - named after an Illinois woman who was sexually abused as a child. Schools in Georgia are now required have trained professionals to speak to young students at an age-appropriate level.

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Source of Law: Statutory

Citation: O.C.G.A. § 20-2-751.4

Link: https://www.gadoe.org/External-Affairs-and-Policy/State-Board-of-Education/Pages/PEABoardRules.aspx

Law and the legal requirements:

Under Georgia law, the state and local boards of education must have policies in place to be used by schools to address bullying, harassment, and violence. These types of behaviors are prohibited on school grounds, on school buses and at bus stops, at school-related functions and activities, and on school computers.

The law is classified as substantial or visible physical harm, interference with a student’s education, severe, persistent, or pervasive that they create an intimidating or threatening school environment; or disrupting the order of operation of the school.

The Georgia Department of Education’s model policy on bullying and harassment requires that a school have in place a procedure to timely investigate to determine whether the event has occurred. Thus, if your school receives a report that a child has been involved in bullying, the school will likely take steps in response.

Some of the recently revised school codes provide that disciplinary action will be taken, ranging from counseling, in-school suspension, short-term suspension, and long-term suspension, to expulsion or referral to an alternative school.

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DeKalb County School Policy/Rules

Citation: Dekalb County School District. (2019). Bullying, harassment, and hazing. Retrieved from https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/bullying-harassment-hazing-awareness/

Link: https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/bullying-harassment-hazing-awareness/

Summary: DeKalb County schools have a no hazing, no bullying, or harassment policy and rule. There is a zero tolerance rule for repeated offenses like threats, attacking someone physically, and unwelcomed conduct based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Students and local school personnel are asked to sign an Anti-Bullying/Harassment/Discrimination/Hazing Pledge and to report any and all incidents.

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Ethics Code: A.11. Bullying, Harassment and Child Abuse

Citation: American School Counselor Association. (2016). The ASCA Ethical Standards for school counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

Link:https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

Summary: School counselors/teachers must report to the administration all incidents of bullying, dating violence and sexual harassment as most fall under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 or other federal and state laws. School counselors provide services to victims and perpetrator as appropriate, which may include a safety plan and reasonable accommodations. School counselors also encourage training to enable students and staff to have the knowledge and skills needed to recognize the signs of sexual abuse.

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A Training Guide for Administrators and Educators for Addressing Sexual Misconduct

Citation: Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools. (2017). A training guide for administrators and educators on addressing adult sexual misconduct in the school setting. Retrieved from
https://rems.ed.gov/docs/ASMTrainingGuide.pdf

Link: https://rems.ed.gov/docs/ASMTrainingGuide.pdf

Summary: Teachers should be aware of appropriate school personnel conduct involving students. There should be positive reinforcement for good work and behavior, compliments that are not personal in nature, and interaction with students in plain sight, with classroom doors opened. Last, regarding physical conduct, personal contact from teachers should be in safe-touch areas such as giving a handshake or pat on the back.

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Slide 13 Bulleted list of Recommendations/Best Practices for Compliance: 

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Slide 13 Bulleted list of Recommendations/Best Practices for Compliance: 

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Conduct annual and on-going training for staff as it relates to Dekalb County Board of Education policies and state/federal laws and regulations.

Manage formal complaints and grievances in accordance with the policies of the Dekalb County Board of Education and the regulations of state and federal agencies.

Collect and analyze data and produce reports in response to state and federal requests (i.e. Civil Rights Data Collection).

Process records production pertaining to educational and employment records (Open Records Requests, Third-Party Requests, FERPA Requests, and Subpoenas).

Schools should prevent cyber-bullying, harassment, violence, and other harmful situations with features such as blocking or flagging harmful email content.

Advance the district's compliance with state and federal regulations (i.e. GA State Board of Education, GA Professional Standards Commission, U.S. Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Justice, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).