Bullying means any severe or pervasive act or conduct directed toward a student or students that has, or can be reasonably predicted to have, the effect of one or more of the following:

• Placing the student or students in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s or students’ person or property
• Causing a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s or students’ physical or mental health
• Substantially interfering with the student’s or students’ academic performance
• Substantially interfering with the student’s or students’ ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by the Laboratory Schools
   

A person commits hazing when they knowingly require a student or other person at Lab to perform any act, on or off Lab property, for the purpose of induction, admission, or membership into any group, team, organization, or society associated with or connected to Lab if the act is not officially sanctioned or authorized by Lab and results in harm to any person or could reasonably be foreseen to result in such harm. A person’s willingness to participate in an act of hazing does not justify or excuse the act, or cause it to fall outside of this Policy.

“Rating” or “ranking” is when a person or group of people create a list or equivalent that rates or ranks members of our community according to attractiveness, body parts, sexual history, or other factors and has the purpose or effect of being demeaning or derogatory. For example, creating a list of “the hottest 10th grade students” or “the best kissers in the 11th grade” is prohibited.
 

Retaliation means any adverse action taken against a person participating in a protected activity because of their participation in that protected activity. Encouraging another to engage in such conduct may also be retaliation.
 

Discrimination is the unjust or different treatment of a person on the basis of a protected characteristic under the law. Discrimination based on factors irrelevant to admission, employment, or program participation violates Lab’s principles and is unlawful.

A protected characteristic (or class) under the law includes a person’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, and other protected classes under applicable law.

Harassment is unwelcome conduct on the basis of someone’s actual or perceived protected characteristic that is so severe or pervasive that it has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a person’s program participation or work performance, or that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment (“hostile environment harassment”). Harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination and can be verbal or physical conduct, or conduct using technology.

Sexual harassment is a form of hostile environment harassment when the unwelecome conduct is based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, or is sexual in nature.

Sexual misconduct encompasses a range of conduct, from sexual assault (an act that the U.S. Department of Education defines as a form of sexual harassment in its regulations implementing Title IX) to conduct such as unwanted touching or persistent unwelcome comments, e-mails, or pictures of an insulting or degrading sexual nature, which may constitute unlawful harassment, depending upon the specific circumstances and context in which the conduct occurs. For example, sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or sexually-directed remarks or behavior constitute sexual misconduct when (1) submission to or rejection of such conduct is made, explicitly or implicitly, a basis for an academic decision, or a term or condition; or (2) such conduct directed against an individual persists despite its rejection. Consent is such a critical factor that an entire section of Lab's harassment policy is dedicated to discussing it.

Sexual misconduct encompasses a range of conduct, from sexual assault (a criminal act that the U.S. Department of Education defines as a form of sexual harassment) to conduct such as unwanted touching or persistent unwelcome comments, e-mails, or pictures of an insulting or degrading sexual nature, which may constitute unlawful harassment, depending upon the specific circumstances and context in which the conduct occurs. For example, sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or sexually-directed remarks or behavior constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to or rejection of such conduct is made, explicitly or implicitly, a basis for an academic or employment decision, or a term or condition of either; or (2) such conduct directed against an individual persists despite its rejection.

In compliance with the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (“VAWA”) and the Clery Act, Lab and the University use the State of Illinois Criminal Code’s definitions of sexual assault and sexual abuse. The University incorporates the State’s definitions of several other important terms, including domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, and recognizes that sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking are not gender-specific crimes. These definitions can be found in Lab’s Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, Sexual Misconduct, Bullying, Hazing, and Retaliation.
 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and its implementing regulations, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities operated by recipients of Federal financial assistance. Sexual harassment of students, which includes acts of sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX. 

• 8 Rules for Healthy Digital Relationships
• Addressing Bias at Lab
• Consent and Harassment Prevention video for Middle and High School Students
• Digital Harassment & Protection
• Healthy Digital Communication
• Sexual Harassment Information for Students
• What is Consent?
• What is Sexual Harassment: Proceed with Caution

• Digital Citizenship and Adult Content
• Talking about Body Boundaries video for Nursery and Primary School Students (1:45 min)

• Addressing Bias at Lab
• Digital Harassment & Protection
• Individuals with Harassment Reporting Responsibilities Decision Tree
• Pronouns: A Guide from GLSEN
• Sexual Harassment Information for Employees
• That May be Harassment
• What is Sexual Harassment: Proceed with Caution

For Lab officials involved in Title IX Sexual Harassment Resolution Processes:

• Title IX Team: Impartial and Unbiased Institutional Response to a Report (August 2020)
• Title IX Coordinator and Investigator: Franczek Coordinator & Investigator Title IX Training K-12 (October 2020)