Thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, schools now may be sued for student-on-student harassment.

The ruling has made area schools more cautious, but most already have procedures in place for handling sexual harassment complaints.

The Supreme Court's ruling was based on a case where a fifth-grade Georgia girl sued when her school district did nothing about her complaints of being sexually harassed by a boy.

The Supreme Court said if harassment is severe and pervasive and the school district is found to be "deliberately indifferent," the school district can be sued for damages.

Local schools' superintendents had varying opinions on what the ruling means for their schools.

"My initial reaction would be that there's some sorting out we need to do. It's going to have the affect of us being more cautious than we have been," said Dr. Lee Harman, Warsaw Community School Corp. Superintendent.

Whitko Schools Superintendent William Worl said, "We have a broad policy that addresses those kind of policies and (they) are published in our handbooks.

"It shouldn't have any impact as long as you're investigating any reports."

Worl, Harman and Tippecanoe Valley superintendent Dr. Karen Boling all said all charges of sexual harassment are followed up and a thorough investigation is completed.

"If our administrative staff is notified of a harassment case, we do follow that up and we have formal procedures to do that," Boling said.

Harman said the court's decision may cause schools to be more apprehensive about day-to-day activities.

"It may take away some of the common sense discretion we had before," he said.

Boling's concern took a different angle.

"I'm just afraid it might give parents an open invitation to sue the school if they weren't happy with what the school corporation did," she said, adding that sometimes, though schools may do as much as they can legally, parents who are unsatisfied may interpret the school's actions as "doing nothing."

As for the number of sexual harassment cases in his district, Worl said, "I can't tell you specific numbers with respect to that. There are no significant numbers of occurrence."

"We have those kind of incidents from time to time," Harman said. "They're relatively infrequent. I don't think they're a heavy amount."

Boling said Tippecanoe Valley schools has investigated sexual harassment cases at the high school and middle school, and recently had one at an elementary school.

In the Warsaw school district, if someone (student or employee) alleges sexual harassment, they file a complaint with the principal or the building supervisor. The complaint is then taken down in writing. Harman said an investigation is conducted and then the report is forwarded to him.

"If I feel it's necessary to forward to the board of trustees, I have that at my discretion," he said.

Students can be suspended or expelled, depending on the circumstances of the case. At the elementary level, a school official may have a conference with a parent, or the student may be suspended for a day or two. There is no prescribed number of days and each case is taken on its own merit.

Guidelines have been established defining the different types of harassment to make sure there is a common understanding of what is and what is not harassment, Harman said.

A similar step-by-step procedure is in place at Whitko schools. Worl said student discipline may mean suspension or expulsion and more severe harassment may result in contact with local criminal justice authorities. [[In-content Ad]]