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Policy violations

Title IX sexual misconduct violations are divided into two tiers, depending on the type of prohibited conduct.

Tier I prohibited conduct

Sexual harassment

The school has adopted the following definition of sexual harassment to address the unique environment of an academic community.

Acts of sexual harassment may be committed by any person upon any other person, regardless of the sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity or gender expression of those involved.

Sexual harassment, as an umbrella category, includes the offenses of sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, and is defined as conduct based on sex that satisfies one or more of the following:

Quid pro quo: An employee of the school conditions the provision of aid, benefit, or service of the school on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.

Sexual harassment: Unwelcome conduct, determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, and pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it effectively denies a person equal access to the school’s education program or activity.

Sexual assault, defined as:

  • Sex offenses, forcible: Any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the complainant, including instances in which the complainant is incapable of giving consent.
  • Forcible rape: Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the complainant.
  • Forcible sodomy: Oral or anal sexual intercourse with another person, forcibly, and/or against that person’s will (non-consensually), or not forcibly or against the person’s will in instances in which the complainant is incapable of giving consent because of age per California state law or because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  • Sexual assault with an object: The use of an object or instrument to penetrate, however slightly, the genital or anal opening of the body of another person, forcibly, and/or against that person’s will (non-consensually), or not forcibly or against the person’s will in instances in which the complainant is incapable of giving consent because of age or because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  • Forcible fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person (buttocks, groin, breasts), for the purpose of sexual gratification, forcibly, and/or against that person’s will (non-consensually), or not forcibly or against the person’s will in instances in which the complainant is incapable of giving consent because of age or because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  • Sex offenses, non-forcible:
    • Incest: Non-forcible sexual intercourse, between persons who are related to each other, within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by California law.
    • Statutory rape: Non-forcible sexual intercourse, with a person who is under the statutory age of consent of 18 years of age in California.

Dating violence, defined as: Violence, based on sex, committed by a person, who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the complainant. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the complainant’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

For the purposes of this definition: Dating Violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.

Domestic violence, defined as: Violence, on the basis of sex, committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the complainant, by a person with whom the complainant shares a child in common, or by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the complainant as a spouse or intimate partner, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the complainant under the domestic or family violence laws of California, or by any other person against an adult or youth complainant who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of California.

Note: For an incident to be defined as domestic violence, the relationship between the respondent and the complainant must be more than just two people living together as roommates or co-habitants. The people cohabitating must be current or former spouses or have an intimate relationship.

Stalking, defined as: Engaging in a course of conduct, on the basis of sex, directed at a specific person, that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety, or the safety of others; or suffer substantial emotional distress.

For the purposes of this definition: Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the respondent directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property. Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the complainant. Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may but does not necessarily require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

Tier II prohibited conduct

In addition to the conduct described in Appendix 1, Tier 1 Prohibited Conduct, which falls within the coverage of Title IX as defined in 34 CFR §106.30, the school additionally prohibits the following offenses as forms of discrimination outside of Title IX sexual harassment when the act is based upon the complainant’s actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity, or gender expression.

Sexual exploitation is defined as taking non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another for their own benefit or for the benefit of anyone other than the person being exploited, and that conduct does not otherwise constitute sexual harassment under school policy. Examples of sexual exploitation include, but are not limited to:

  • Sexual voyeurism (such as observing or allowing others to observe a person undressing or using the bathroom or engaging in sexual acts without the consent of the person being observed).
  • Invasion of sexual privacy.
  • Taking pictures, video, or audio recording of another in a sexual act, or in any other sexually-related activity when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy during the activity, without the consent of all involved in the activity, or exceeding the boundaries of consent (such as allowing another person to hide in a closet and observe sexual activity, or disseminating sexual pictures without the photographed person’s consent), including the making or posting of revenge pornography.
  • Prostituting another person.
  • Engaging in sexual activity with another person while knowingly infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or infection (STI), without informing the other person of the infection.
  • Causing or attempting to cause the incapacitation of another person (through alcohol, drugs, or any other means) for the purpose of compromising that person’s ability to give consent to sexual activity or for the purpose of making that person vulnerable to non-consensual sexual activity.
  • Misappropriation of another person’s identity on apps, websites, or other venues designed for dating or sexual connections.
  • Forcing a person to take action against that person’s will by threatening to show, post, or share information, video, audio, or an image that depicts the person’s nudity or sexual activity.
  • Knowingly soliciting a minor for sexual activity.
  • Engaging in sex trafficking.
  • Creation, possession, or dissemination of child pornography.

Non-consensual sexual touching is defined as intentional sexual touching, however slight, with any body part or object, by any individual upon another without consent and/or by force or coercion. Sexual contact includes: intentional contact with the breasts, buttock, groin, or genitals, or touching another with any of these body parts or object, or making another touch you or themselves with or on any of these body parts; any intentional bodily contact in a sexual manner, though not involving contact with/of/by breasts, buttocks, groin, genitals, mouth, or another orifice.

Threatening or causing physical harm, extreme verbal, emotional, or psychological abuse, or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person.

Gender-based harassment is defined as acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, based on gender, gender expression, sex, or sexual-orientation; unwelcome sexual advances; requests for sexual favors; or verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Gender-based discrimination is defined as giving preferential treatment to one gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation to the disadvantage of another.

Intimidation is defined as implied threats or acts that cause an unreasonable fear of harm to one gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, or sexual orientation another.

Sex- or gender-based hazing is defined as acts likely to cause physical or psychological harm or social ostracism to any person within the school community when related to the admission, initiation, pledging, joining, or any other group-affiliation activity.

Sex- or gender-based bullying, defined as: Repeated and/or severe aggressive behavior likely to intimidate or intentionally hurt, control, or diminish another person, physically and/or mentally that is not speech or conduct otherwise protected by the Leonard Law (California).

Violation of no contact/supportive or protective measures: Failure to abide by or follow the requirements of a no-contact order or other protective or supportive measures.

Attempts, defined as: Conduct that, if successful, would constitute or result in the prohibited conduct.