Harassment is an incident or incidents of verbal, written, visual, or physical conduct, including any incident conducted by electronic, based on or motivated by a student’s or a student’s family member’s actual or perceived protected identities that has the purpose or effect of undermining and detracting from or interfering with a student’s educational performance or access to school resources or creating an objectively intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

Hazing is any act committed by a person or group of people on or off school property, against another student in connection with pledging, being initiated into, affiliated with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization that is affiliated with CVSD.

Bullying is acts or behaviors directed against a student by another student or group of students and which is repeated over time, is intended to ridicule, humiliate, or intimidate the student.

To file a formal complaint, contact your school administrator.

If you have made a report that you wish to follow up on, contact Jess Howard, CVSD HHB advisor: jhoward@cvsdvt.org

Once a report is made of inappropriate student behavior that may constitute a violation of the HHB policy:

• The school administrator will assess whether the report meets the threshold to initiate an investigation. If an investigation is deemed necessary, the school administrator will send notice to the parties within 24 hours of notice of the report.
• Parents/guardians of students directly involved in the investigations will be contacted.
• The parties involved will be interviewed by an investigator (usually a building administrator and/or member of behavior support team).
• The investigation will be concluded, and the parties will be contacted with the results within ten school days from the filing of the complaint. (Delays can happen in certain circumstances.)
• Administrators must take interim safety measures during the investigation to protect the complaining student from further hazing, harassment, or bullying by the accused student(s).
   

For designated building contacts, please contact your school administrator.

Complaints of harassment can also be filed with: Regional Director, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education; 8th floor, 5 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109-3921; Email: OCR.Boston@ed.gov, (617) 289-0111 or (877) 521-2172 (TDD); or the Vermont Human Rights Commission, 14–16 Baldwin St., Montpelier, VT 05633-6301, Email: human.rights@state.vt.us, (800) 416-2010 (Voice) or (877) 294-9200 (TTY).

Complaints, and any resulting consequences, will be confidential as permitted by investigative needs, duty to act on certain results, compliance with Public Record Requests, and consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.