Anti-Harassment Policy 

New Leader Academy complies with the Illinois Racism-Free Schools Law (105 ILCS 5/22-95 et seq.) as applicable to nonpublic schools. Discrimination and harassment based on race, color, or national origin and retaliation is prohibited. Please refer to New Leader Academy's Bullying Prevention Policy for applicable investigation and reporting procedures applicable to complaints made under this policy.

 

Prohibited Conduct & Examples:

 

Any discrimination or harassment based on race, color, or national origin and retaliation is prohibited under this policy.

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Conduct that may be considered discrimination if on the basis of race, color, or national origin include, but is not limited to: denying access to specific opportunities for academic or job-related advancement; disciplining a student or employee more harshly or more often for the same misconduct; or, denying language services to students who are English language learners.

 

Harassment may be a form of prohibited discrimination. Conduct that may be considered harassment if on the basis of race, color, or national origin include, but is not limited to: the use of racial, ethnic or ancestral slurs or stereotypes; humiliating comments about a person's actual or perceived race, color, or national origin; the display of symbols of racial or ethnic violence; and, hostile or intimidating comments, threats, or physical attacks that are motivated by race, color, or national origin.

 

Filing a Complaint & Investigation Process:

 

New Leader Academy utilizes the same process and procedures for reporting, filing and investigating a complaint of alleged incidents of discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color or national origin, as it does for reports of bullying pursuant to the school’s Bullying Prevention Policy. Please refer to New Leader Academy's Bullying Prevention Policy that can be found www.newleaderacademy.org.

 

Individuals are encouraged to promptly report acts of discrimination or harassment based on race, color, or national origin to Lori Smith, Principal at lsmith@newleaderacademy.org or any employee with whom the individual student is comfortable speaking.

 

Any school employee who receives a report or complaint of discrimination or harassment must promptly forward the report or complaint to Lori Smith, Principal at lsmith@newleaderacademy.org. Any employee who fails to promptly report may be disciplined, up to and including discharge.

 

To the greatest extent practicable, and subject to New Leader Academy’s duty to investigate, reports and complaints of discrimination or harassment will be confidential, and information will be disclosed only on an as-needed basis.

 

Prevention and Response Program:  

 

As part of New Leader Academy’s prevention and response to complaints of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, and national origin, and retaliation, New Leader Academy

 

• Will reduce or remove, to the extent practicable, barriers to reporting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation;

• Will permit any person who reports or is the victim of an incident of alleged discrimination, harassment, or retaliation to be accompanied by a support individual of the person's choice who complies with the school's policies or rules when making a report;

• Will permit anonymous reporting, except that an anonymous report may not be the sole basis of any disciplinary action;

• Will offer remedial interventions or take such disciplinary action as may be appropriate on a case- by-case basis;

• May offer, but not require or unduly influence a person who reports or is the victim of an incident of harassment or retaliation, the option to resolve allegations directly with the accused;

• Will protect a person who reports or is the victim of an incident of harassment or retaliation from suffering adverse consequences as a result of a report of, investigation of, or a response to the incident; and

• Will not permit victims of discrimination or harassment based on race, color and national origin to engage in retaliation against the offender and will not be limited in applying disciplinary measures in its response to other acts or conduct not related to the process of reporting, investigating, or responding to a report of an incident of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Potential Remedies for a Violation:

• If after an investigation, an employee is determined to have engaged in conduct prohibited by this policy, they will be subject to remedial action and/or disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.

• If after an investigation, a student is determined to have engaged in conduct prohibited by this policy, they will be subject to remedial action and/or disciplinary action, which may include, but is not limited to, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, or termination of placement. Please refer to New Leader Academy’s Student Handbook and Code of Conduct. The student’s placing school district may also be informed of a student’s involvement in any such incident and an IEP meeting may be convened to discuss appropriate supports, services and placement.

• If after an investigation, a third party, e.g., vendor, parent, invitee, etc., is determined to have engaged in conduct prohibited by this policy, New Leader Academy will address the violation on a case-by-case basis and pursuant to any other applicable school policies.

• Any person making a knowingly false accusation regarding prohibited conduct will likewise be subject to remedial and/or disciplinary action.

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Retaliation Prohibited:

 

Retaliation against any person for bringing complaints, participating in the complaint process, or otherwise providing information about discrimination or harassment based on race, color, or national origin is prohibited. Any allegations of retaliation under this policy should be reported to Lori Smith, Principal at lsmith@newleaderacademy.org.

 

This policy is also not intended to impair or otherwise diminish the right of employees under federal law, State law, or a collective bargaining agreement, if applicable.

 

Complaints to Federal and State Agencies:

 

If there is a failure to take necessary corrective action in response to severe or pervasive harassment based on race, color, or national origin, further relief and legal recourse may be available through state and federal agencies:

Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR)

https://dhr.illinois.gov/about-us/contact-idhr.html (312) 814-6200 (Chicago) (217) 785-5100 (Springfield)

U.S. Department of Education - Office for Civil Rights

https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/civil-rights-laws/file-complaint

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