What is the Decorah Community School District doing to prevent sexual harassment in its schools?

In light of all the recent talk of sexual harassment in the national news, decorahnews.com sat down with Decorah Community School District Superintendent Mike Haluska to discuss the District's policies on harassment and what steps it's taking to keep students and employees safe.

Superintendent Haluska shared that the District has policies in place to protect the interests of both students and staff. In addition, the administrative and district leadership teams work together each year to address pertinent issues such as sexual harassment when they plan and develop the professional development inservice schedule.

Superintendent Haluska says the District's most recent formal staff training on sexual harassment was 3-5 years ago when they brought in School Administrators of Iowa Legal Services Director Matt Carver to address the staff in person.

In addition to inservice training provided by the District, all teachers are required to successfully complete a statewide training module every 5 years to maintain their licensure. "If someone is found guilty of harassment," Haluska notes, "there's no way to redeem themself. Not only will they lose their job, they'll lose their teaching license as well, permanently damaging their career."

Haluska shared that the the District's salary schedule (level of education + years of experience) helps to ensure a fair and professional work environment for all employees. "The salary schedule helps maintain equity in the workplace and helps keep things gender-blind when it comes to pay, benefits, and advancement."
 
All DCSD policies can be found on the District website at http://decorah.isfis.net/. The District's policies specifically regarding sexual harassment are linked below and were last updated in 2013.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Prohibition of Harassment
Equal Educational Opportunities: Prohibition of Harassment and Bullying of Students