When a matter is serious enough to be referred to the police and it also is
potential sexual harassment, there is concurrent jurisdiction between the
police and the school district. Said another way, the school district is not
relieved of its responsibility to investigate the complaint of sexual
harassment in a prompt, thorough, and objective manner. It has been held that
the police report does not suffice as an investigation on behalf of the school
district. The school district must perform its own investigation in that the
burden of proof is different between criminal matters (beyond a reasonable
doubt) and the administrative matter (preponderance of the evidence) that SH is
within a school district.
Mary Jo McGrath
MJDIVA@aol.com
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