The Board of Education believes that hazing activities of any type are inconsistent with the educational process and prohibits all such activities at any time in school facilities, on school property, and/or off school property if the misconduct is connected to activities or incidents that have occurred on school property. No administrator, faculty member, or other Board employee shall encourage, permit, condone, or tolerate any hazing activities. No student shall plan, encourage, or engage in any hazing.

Hazing shall be defined for purposes of this policy as performing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to perform any act of initiation into any class, team, or organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm. Permission, consent, or assumption of risk by an individual subjected to hazing shall not lessen the prohibitions contained in this policy.

Administrators, faculty members, and other employees of the Board shall be alerted to possible situations, circumstances, or events that might include hazing. If hazing or planned hazing is discovered, the students involved shall be informed by the discoverer of the prohibitions contained in this policy and shall be ordered to end all hazing activities or planned activities immediately. All hazing incidents shall be reported immediately to the Superintendent. Students, administrators, faculty members, and other employees who fail to abide by this policy may be subject to disciplinary action and may be held personally liable for civil and criminal penalties in accordance with law.

The Superintendent shall distribute this policy to all students and Board employees, and shall incorporate it into building, staff, and student handbooks. It shall also be the subject of discussion at employee staff meetings or in-service programs.

R.C. 2307.44, 2903.31, 3313.661

Reviewed 6/94; Readopted 7/94

Revised 10/02; Readopted 11/02