A policy prohibiting student-to-student sexual harassment - including gay bashing - has been approved by the Salt Lake City School Board.
The policy would require school employees to report incidents of harassment regardless whether the conduct is welcome or if the employee believes the conduct rises to the level of sexual harassment."A lot of what happens appears to be welcome behavior, but it's not. In a lot of these cases, they (students) just don't know how to get out of it. They don't know how to deal with it," said Dale Manning, assistant superintendent of personnel.
In the course of the school clubs debate, some gay and lesbian Salt Lake students have complained about fear and intimidation in school settings.
Manning said work on the policy has been under way for a number of months, not necessarily a response to concerns raised by the students.
Meanwhile, the Salt Lake Teachers Association says the policy would require educators to be harassment monitors in addition to their teaching duties.
"It's going to be a problem with teachers policing it. It's not going to put more pressure on teachers. They've (the board) got to come out a little more and tell us what they want from teachers, what's realistic for us to do. We expect our teachers to be everything and they can't," said Elaine Tzourtzouklis, Salt Lake Teachers Association president.
The policy covers explicit sexual propositions, sexual innuendo, suggestive comments, sexually oriented kidding, teasing and practical jokes, jokes about gender specific traits, foul or obscene language or gestures, display of foul or obscene visual or printed material and physical contact such as patting, pinching or brushing against another's body.