Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action

The district is committed to a positive workplace environment that celebrates diversity and focuses on inclusion to create a culture of belonging that provides a healthy sense of well-being for staff, volunteers, and contractors.

Nondiscrimination

The Bellevue School District is committed providing an educational and working environment without discrimination based on race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably-discharged veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, marital status, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. 

This policy and accompanying procedure prohibit discrimination and harassment of any staff member, volunteers, and contractors who work on behalf of the district. For this policy's purposes, discrimination can occur student to adult, adult to adult, or  by a group of students and/or adults. There are separate policies that prohibit discrimination and harassment of students. These include Policy 3210 (Nondiscrimination), Policy 3211 (Gender Inclusive Schools), Policy 3205 (Prohibition of Sexual Harassment), and Policy 3207 (Prohibition of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying).

 Equal Employment Opportunity

The district will provide equal employment opportunity and treatment for all applicants and staff in recruitment, hiring, retention, assignment, transfer, promotion, and training. Such equal employment opportunity will be provided without discrimination with respect to a legally protected characteristic, which include the following:  race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably-discharged veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, marital status, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

Discriminatory Harassment

Discriminatory harassment is unwelcome conduct that is:

1.  Directed toward a person based on a protected characteristic,

2.  Sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive;

3.  Unreasonably interferes with a person’s work environment or ability to perform job duties; and

4.  The cause of an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

Malicious Harassment

Committing malicious and intentional acts because of one’s perception of the victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or mental, physical, or sensory disability which;

1. Causes physical injury to the victim or another person.

2. Causes physical damage to or destruction of the property of the victim or another person; or

3. Threatens a specific person or group of persons and places that person, or members of a specific group of persons, in reasonable fear of harm to the persons or property.

 Affirmative Action

The District is committed to undertake affirmative action which will make effective equal employment opportunities for staff and applicants for employment. Such affirmative action will include a review of programs, the setting of goals and the implementation of corrective employment procedures to increase the ratio of aged, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities,  women, and veterans who are under-represented in the job classifications in relationship to the availability of such persons having requisite qualifications. Affirmative action plans may not include hiring or employment preferences based on gender or race, including color, ethnicity, or national origin. Such affirmative action will also include recruitment, selection, training,  education, and other programs.

The Superintendent will develop an affirmative action plan which specifies the personnel procedures to be followed by the employees of the District and will ensure that no such procedures discriminate against any individual. Reasonable steps will be taken to promote employment opportunities of those classes that are recognized as protected groups — aged, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and women and veterans.

This policy, as well as the affirmative action plan, regulations and procedures developed according to it, will be disseminated widely to employees in all classifications and to all interested patrons and organizations. Progress toward the goals established under this policy will be reported annually to the board.

Employment of Persons with Disabilities

In order to fulfill its commitment of nondiscrimination to those with disabilities, the following conditions will prevail:

 

A.     No qualified person with disabilities will, solely by reason of a disability, be subjected to discrimination and the District will not limit,  segregate, or classify any applicants for employment or any staff member in any way that adversely affects his/her opportunities or status because of a disability. This prohibition applies to all aspects of employment from recruitment to promotions, and includes all benefits, including fringe benefits, and other elements of compensation;

B.     The District will make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified disabled applicant or staff member unless it is clear that accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the District program. Such reasonable accommodations may include:

1.     Making facilities used by staff readily accessible and usable by persons with disabilities; and

2.     Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, the provision of readers or interpreters and other similar actions. In determining whether or not accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the District, factors to be considered include the nature and cost of the  accommodation.

C.     The District will not make use of any employment test or criteria that screens out persons with disabilities unless the test or criteria is clearly and specifically job-related.

D.     While the District may not make pre-employment inquiry as to whether an applicant has a disability or as to the nature and severity of any such disability. The district will review job descriptions annually to ensure that otherwise qualified applicants are not discouraged from applying based on unnecessary position requirements. The district may inquire into an applicant’s ability to perform job-related functions.

E.      Any staff member who believes that there has been a violation of this policy or the law prohibiting discrimination because of a disability may initiate a grievance through the procedures for staff complaints.

Nondiscrimination for Military Service

The District will not discriminate against any person who is a member of, applies to be a member or performs, has performed, applies to perform or has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service, on the basis of that participation in a uniformed service. This includes initial employment, retention in employment, , promotion or any benefit of employment. The District will also not discriminate against any person who has participated in the enforcement of these rights under state or federal law.

Compliance Officer

 The Superintendent will designate a staff member to serve as the compliance officer.

 

Cross References:       Board Policy 4220                     Complaints Concerning                                                                                         Programs or Staff Resolution

                                     Policy 4218                                Language Access Plan

 

                                     Policy 0130                                Equity and Accountability

 

Legal References:       RCW 28A.400.310                     Law against discrimination applicable to

                                                                                       districts’ employment practices

RCW 28A.640.020                                                          Regulations, guidelines to eliminate                                                                                                          discrimination — Scope — Sexual                                                                                                            harassment policies

RCW 28A.642                                                                 Discrimination prohibition

RCW 49.60                                                                      Discrimination — Human rights commission

RCW 49.60.030                                                               Freedom from discrimination — Declaration of                                                                                           civil rights

RCW 49.60.180                                                               Unfair practices of employers

RCW 49.60.400                                                               Discrimination, preferential treatment                                                                                                         prohibited

RCW 73.16                                                                      Employment and Reemployment

 

WAC 392-190                                                                  Equal Education Opportunity – Unlawful                                                                                                   Discrimination Prohibited

WAC 392-190-0592                                                        Public school employment — Affirmative                                                                                                    action program

42 USC 2000e1 – 2000e10                                            Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

20 USC  § 1681 - 1688                                                   Title IX Educational Amendments of 1972

42 USC 12101 – 12213                                                   Americans with Disabilities Act

8 USC 1324                                                                    (IRCA) Immigration Reform and Control Act of                                                                                          1986

38 USC §§ 4301-4333                                                    Uniformed Services Employment and

                                                                                        Reemployment Rights Act

29 USC 794                                                                     Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973

34 CFR § 104                                                                  Nondiscrimination on the basis of handicap                                                                                           in Programs or activities receiving federal                                                                                                 financial assistance

38 USC §4212                                                                 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974

Laws of 2018 ch. 116                                                       Wages and Advancement Opportunities -                                                                                                 Gender