Duncanville school district responds to child’s sexual harassment incident

by Danielle Parker of Duncanville TODAY

Earlier this month, a 7-year-old boy was suspended after he told a classmate to wear a darker shirt because he could see the girl's bra strap. Duncanville Independent School District initially labeled the incident sexual harassment.

Problems such as this have made parents and critics question whether or not school policies should be amended.

“We are governed by a board with local and federal policies,” Tammy Kuykendall, DISD director of community relations said. “The policy from the state is not based on age, but is a case-by-case policy.”

After the boy's parents complained that sexual harassment accusations were incorrect and too severe, the offense was later lessened to “bullying” by the district. The child was suspended for two days and temporarily sent to an alternative school.

“Each incident starts out as disciplinary, and they have to go through a process of standard procedures that have been predetermined by the state,” Kuykendall said.

In 1993, the U.S. Department of Education decided against a Minnesota school district for not properly responding to a young girl's complaints of harassment by a group of elementary boys. Six years later, the Supreme Court ruled a school district could be held responsible for not protecting a student and ignoring any type of student harassment.

Cases such as this have forced school districts to respond in a reasonable and timely manner to student-on-student aggravation that may seem minor or trivial to some parents.

The DISD sexual harassment policy states, “Examples of such behavior that would affect a student's education include, but are not limited to, sexual advances; touching intimate body parts or coercing physical contact that is sexual in nature; jokes or conversations of a sexual nature; and other sexually motivated conduct, communications or contact.”

Because of previous lawsuits and similar cases elsewhere, if DISD does not respond to a complaint, it could be liable. Although the district may face criticism, it prefers to be cautious.

Fortunately for Duncanville, incidents like this are rare, and principals and superintendents are keeping every child's welfare in mind as they work to make necessary improvements, according to Kuykendall.

“Our records show that as of September, we had no cases of sexual harassment, so this is the only one for the year,” Kuykendall said “We are required to review these items annually, and will make appropriate modifications as they are needed.”

For information about DISD's policy on student conduct go to www.duncanvilleisd. org.