Harassment and Bullying: In order to provide a physically safe and emotionally secure environment for all students and staff, it is the goal of Waterford High School to foster a positive school climate. A positive school climate is one that evokes non-violence, cooperation, teamwork, understanding, and acceptance toward all students and staff in and in transit to and from the school environment. Part of fostering a positive school climate involves the elimination of harassment, intimidation, and bullying that might occur between students and/or groups of students. The Ohio Revised Code (ORC 3313.666) defines “harassment, intimidation, or bullying” as “any intentional written, verbal, or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both: (1) Causes mental or physical harm to the other student; (2) Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.” Cyber-bullying is any or all of the above prohibited behaviors as perpetrated with computers, cellular phones, internet websites, and/or any other electronic device. The above behaviors are prohibited on school property and at school events, and the prohibition is not limited to where the cyber-bullying originates, but also includes the point to which it is communicated. The entire bullying policy as adopted by the Wolf Creek Local Schools Board of Education may be found at the district website, http://www.wolfcreek.k12.oh.us/, or a hard copy of the policy will be provided upon a request directed to the principal. 

Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is a kind of discrimination, which means that someone is treated differently because of his or her sex. Sexual harassment is behavior or words that: 

1. Are directed at a person because of his or her sex.

2. Are uninvited, unwanted, and unwelcome. 

3. Cause a person to feel uncomfortable or offended. 

4. Create an environment that makes learning difficult. 

5. May be repeated or may be very offensive on a one-time basis. 

Hazing: Hazing activities of any type are inconsistent with the educational process and shall be prohibited at all times. No administrator, faculty member, or other employee of the school district shall encourage, permit, condone, or tolerate any hazing activities. No student, including leaders of student organizations, shall plan, encourage, or engage in any hazing. 

Hazing is defined as doing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation unto any student or other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person. Permission, consent, or assumption of risk by an individual subjected to hazing does not lessen the prohibition contained in this policy. 

Administrators, faculty members, and all other employees of the school district shall be particularly alert to possible situations, circumstances, or events that might include hazing. If hazing or planned hazing is discovered, involved students shall be informed by the discovering school employee of the prohibition contained in this code and shall be required to end all hazing activities immediately. 

All hazing incidents shall be reported immediately to the Superintendent. Administrators, faculty members, students, and all other employees who fail to abide by this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, and may be liable for civil and criminal penalties in accordance with Ohio law.