Part B: Prohibited Conduct

Discrimination is different treatment with respect to a person’s employment or participation in an education program or activity based, in whole or in part, upon a person’s actual or perceived protected characteristic(s). Discrimination also includes allegations of a failure to provide reasonable accommodations as required by law or policy, such as for disability, religion, or creed.

Discrimination can take two primary forms:

• Disparate Treatment Discrimination
• Disparate Impact Discrimination

Any intentional differential treatment of a person or persons that is based on an individual’s actual or perceived protected characteristic(s) and that:

• Excludes an individual from participation in,
• denies the individual benefits of, or
• otherwise adversely affects a term or condition of an individual’s participation in a Saint Mary’s College program or activity.

Disparate impact occurs when policies or practices that appear to be neutral unintentionally result in a disproportionate impact on a protected group or person that:

• Excludes an individual from participation in,
• denies the individual benefits of, or
• otherwise adversely affects a term or condition of an individual’s participation in a Saint Mary’s College program or activity.

• Unwelcome conduct on the basis of actual or perceived protected characteristic(s), within the scope of this Policy, that
• based on the totality of the circumstances,
• is subjectively and objectively offensive, and
• is so severe or pervasive,
• that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from Saint Mary’s College’s education program or activity.

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the State of California regard Sexual Harassment, a specific form of Discriminatory Harassment, as an unlawful discriminatory practice.

Acts of Sexual Harassment may be committed by any person upon any other person, regardless of the sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity of those involved.

Saint Mary’s College has adopted the following definitions of Sexual Harassment in order to address the unique environment of an academic community. While the definitions below may overlap, they are not identical, and they each apply as noted.

“Title IX Sexual Harassment” is a subset of Prohibited Conduct. Under Department of Education regulations (see 34 C.F.R., Part 106) issued in May 2020 to implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the College is required to prohibit certain forms of sexual harassment as defined in those regulations.

Title IX Sexual Harassment, as an umbrella category, includes the offenses of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking. This definition applies to all Formal Complaints that fall within Title IX jurisdiction as determined by the Title IX Coordinator. Title IX Sexual Harassment will follow the resolution procedures outlined below.

Sexual Harassment includes conduct on the basis of sex, or that is sexual in nature, that satisfies one or more of the following:

1. Title IX Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment: An Employee of Saint Mary’s College of California, conditions¹ the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the College, on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
2. Title IX Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome conduct, determined by a reasonable person, to be so severe, and pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it effectively denies a complainant equal access to the college’s program or activity.²
3. Title IX Sexual Assault:
   1. Rape: Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus of a person, with any body part or object, or oral penetration (i) of a sex organ of the complainant, or (ii) by the respondent’s sex organ, without the consent of the complainant, including instances where the complainant is incapable of giving consent because of their age or because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
   2. Fondling: The intentional touching of the clothed or unclothed genitals, buttocks, groin, breasts, or other body parts of the complainant by the respondent (i) without the consent of the complainant, (ii) for the purpose of sexual degradation, sexual gratification, or sexual humiliation; or the intentional touching by the complainant of the respondent’s clothed or unclothed genitals, buttocks, groin, breasts, or other body parts (i) without the consent of the complainant, (ii) for the purpose of sexual degradation, sexual gratification, or sexual humiliation.
   3. Incest: Sexual intercourse, between persons who are related to each other, within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by California law.
   4. Statutory Rape: Sexual intercourse, with a person who is under the statutory age of consent of 18 years old.
4. Title IX Dating Violence: Violence³ on the basis of sex, committed by a respondent, who is in or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the complainant – (i) the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the complainant’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of the relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. For the purposes of this definition – (a) dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse; (b) dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.
5. Title IX Domestic Violence:⁴ Violence,⁵ on the basis of sex, committed by a respondent who is a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the complainant, by a person with whom the complainant shares a child in common, or by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the complainant as a spouse or intimate partner, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the complainant under the domestic or family violence laws of California, or by any other person against an adult or youth complainant who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of California.
6. Title IX Stalking:⁶ A respondent engaging in a course of conduct, on the basis of sex, directed at the complainant, that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety, or the safety of others, or suffer substantial emotional distress. For the purposes of this definition: (i) course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the respondent directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property, and (ii) substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may but does not necessarily require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

The College reserves the right to impose any level of sanction, ranging from a reprimand up to and including suspension or expulsion/termination, for any offense under this Policy. The most serious offenses are likely to result in suspension/expulsion/termination.

Non-Title IX Sexual Harassment is Prohibited Conduct that falls within the scope of this Policy and the definitions below but that does not fall within the definition of Title IX Sexual Harassment, either due to the nature of the conduct or because it did not reportedly occur within a program or activity of the College in the United States. Non-Title IX Sexual Harassment will follow the resolution procedures outlined below.

Sexual Harassment includes conduct on the basis of sex, or that is sexual in nature, that satisfies one or more of the following:

1. California IX Sexual Harassment:¹ Unwelcome sexual advances, or requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from one in the work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions: submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or condition of an individual’s employment, academic status, or progress, or submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individuals, or the conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment, or submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for any decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
2. Title VII & FHA² Sexual Harassment: Applies to situations where an employee is subjected to workplace sexual harassment, or where a situation involves a residential complainant, and the incident took place, in college-provided housing. Unwelcome verbal, written, graphic, and/or physical conduct, that is severe or pervasive and objectively offensive, on the basis of sex, that unreasonably interferes with, limits, or effectively denies an individual’s educational or employment access, benefits, or opportunities.
3. Non-Title IX Sexual Violence: Physical sexual acts³ perpetrated against a person without the person’s affirmative consent.
4. Non-Title IX Dating Violence: Dating Violence as defined in the Title IX Dating Violence definition above that did not reportedly occur in a program or activity of the College in the United States.
5. Non-Title IX Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence as defined in the Title IX Domestic Violence definition above that did not reportedly occur in a program or activity of the College in the United States.
6. Non-Title IX Stalking: Stalking as defined in the Title IX Stalking definition above that did not reportedly occur in a program or activity of the College in the United States.

The College reserves the right to impose any level of sanction, ranging from a reprimand up to and including suspension or expulsion/termination, for any offense under this Policy. The most serious offenses are likely to result in suspension/expulsion/termination.

Any person taking non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another, that does not constitute Sexual Harassment as defined above, for their own benefit or for the benefit of anyone other than the person being exploited. Examples of Sexual Exploitation include, but are not limited to:

• Sexual voyeurism (such as observing or allowing others to observe a person undressing, or using the bathroom, or engaging in sexual acts, without the consent of the person being observed)
• Electronically distributing (e.g., Airdropping, Snapchatting) nude or sexual photos or videos of another person without their consent
• Invasion of sexual privacy (e.g., doxxing)
• Knowingly making an unwelcome disclosure of (or threatening to disclose) an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression
• Taking pictures, video, or audio recording of another person in a sexual act, or in any other sexually related activity when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy during the activity, without the consent of involved in the activity; or exceeding the boundaries of consent (such as allowing another person to hide in a closet and observe sexual activity; or disseminating sexual pictures without the photographed person’s consent), including the making or posting of non-consensual pornography
• Prostituting another person
• Engaging in sexual activity with another person while knowingly infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or a sexually transmitted disease (STD), or infection (STI), without informing the other person of the virus, disease, or infection
• Causing or attempting to cause the incapacitation of another person (through alcohol, drugs, or any other means) for the purpose of compromising that person’s ability to give consent to sexual activity, or for the purpose of making that person vulnerable to non-consensual sexual activity
• Misappropriation of another person’s identity on apps, websites, or other venues designed for dating or sexual connections (e.g., spoofing)
• Forcing a person to take an action against the person’s will by threatening to show, post, or share information, video, audio, or an image that depicts the person’s nudity or sexual activity
• Knowingly soliciting a minor for sexual activity
• Engaging in sex trafficking
• Knowingly creating, possessing, or disseminating child sexual abuse images or recordings
• Creating or disseminating synthetic media, including images, videos, or audio representations of individuals doing or saying sexually related things that never happened, or placing identifiable real people in fictitious pornographic or nude situations without their consent (i.e., Deepfakes).

Discrimination on the basis of a person’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or reproductive health decision-making. May take the form of Disparate Treatment Discrimination or Disparate Impact Discrimination as defined in the definitions above.

Harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or reproductive health decision-making, which may include acts of aggression, intimidation, or hostility, whether verbal, physical, graphic, or otherwise. The qualify as Gender-Based Harassment, the conduct need not involve conduct of a sexual nature. Gender-Harassment can take two primary forms:

1. Quid Pro Quo Harassment: Occurs when submission to or rejection of unwelcome conduct is used, explicitly or implicitly, as the basis for decisions affecting an individual’s education (e.g., admission, academic standing, grades, assignment); employment (e.g., hiring, advancement, assignment); or participation in a college program or activity (e.g., campus housing).
2. Hostile Environment Harassment: Occurs when verbal, physical, written, electronic, or other conduct based on an individual’s protected characteristic(s), within the scope of this Policy, is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with, limits, or denies an individual’s ability to participate in or benefit from the College’s educational program or activity, employment access, benefits, or opportunities, or other College programs or activities (e.g., campus housing, official College list-servs, College-sponsored platforms), when viewed from both a subjective and objective perspective.
   1. In evaluating whether a hostile environment exists, the College will evaluate the totality of known circumstances, including, but not limited to: the nature, frequency, intensity, location, context, and duration of the conduct; whether the conduct was physically threatening; the effect of the conduct on the complainant’s mental or emotional state; whether the conduct was directed at more than one individual; whether the conduct arose in the context of other discriminatory conduct; whether the conduct unreasonably interfered with the complainant’s educational or work performance and/or College’s programs or activities; whether the conduct implicates academic freedom or protected speech; and other relevant factors that may arise from consideration of the reported facts and circumstances. 

The College reserves the right to impose any level of sanction, ranging from a reprimand up to and including suspension or expulsion/termination, for any offense under this Policy. The most serious offenses are likely to result in suspension/expulsion/termination.

Sexual Exploitation:¹

• A person taking non-consensual or abusive advantage of another, that does not constitute Sex-Based Harassment as defined above,
• for the benefit of the Respondent or for the benefit of anyone other than the person being exploited.

Examples of Sexual Exploitation include, but are not limited to:

• Sexual voyeurism (such as observing or allowing others to observe a person undressing or using the bathroom or engaging in sexual acts, without the consent of the person being observed)
• Invasion of sexual privacy (e.g., doxing)
• Knowingly making an unwelcome disclosure of (or threatening to disclose) an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression
• Taking pictures, video, or audio recording of another in a sexual act, or in any other sexually related activity when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy during the activity, without the consent of all involved in the activity; or exceeding the boundaries of consent (such as allowing another person to hide in a closet and observe sexual activity, or disseminating sexual pictures/videos without the photographed/videoed person’s consent), including making or posting of non-consensual pornography
• Prostituting another person
• Engaging in sexual activity with another person while knowingly infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or infection (STI), without informing the other person of the virus, disease, or infection
• Causing or attempting to cause the incapacitation of another person (through alcohol, other drugs, or any other means) for the purpose of compromising that person’s ability to give consent to sexual activity, or for the purpose of making that person vulnerable to non-consensual sexual activity
• Misappropriation of another person’s identity on apps, websites, or other venues designed for dating or sexual connections (e.g., spoofing)
• Forcing a person to take an action against that person’s will by threatening to show, post, or share information, video, audio, or an image that depicts the person’s nudity or sexual activity
• Knowingly soliciting a minor for sexual activity
• Engaging in the sex trafficking of another person
• Knowingly creating, possessing, or disseminating child sexual abuse images or recordings, or other such material
• Creating or disseminating synthetic media, including images, videos, or audio representations of individuals doing or saying sexually related things that never happened, or placing identifiable real people in fictitious pornographic or nude situations without their consent (i.e., Deepfakes)

• The College or any member of the College's community,
• taking or attempting to take materially adverse action,
• by intimidating, threatening, coercing, harassing, or discriminating against any individual,
• for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by law or Policy, or
• because the individual has made a report or complaint, testified, assisted, or participated or refused to participate in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the Policy and associated procedures.

The exercise of rights protected under the First Amendment does not constitute retaliation. It is also not retaliation for the College to pursue Policy violations against those who make materially false statements in bad faith in the course of a resolution process under this Policy. However, the determination of responsibility, by itself, is not sufficient to conclude that any party has made a materially false statement in bad faith.

Repeated and/or severe aggressive behavior that is likely to intimidate or intentionally hurt, control, or physically or mentally diminish the complainant, that is not speech or conduct otherwise protected by the First Amendment.

Threatening or causing physical harm; extreme verbal, emotional, or psychological abuse; or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person or damages their property.

Any act or action which does or is likely to endanger the mental or physical health or safety of any person as it relates to a person’s initiation, admission into, or affiliation with any SMC group or organization.

For the purposes of this definition: (i) it is not necessary that a person’s initiation or continued membership is contingent upon participation in the activity, or that the activity was sanctioned or approved by the student group or organization, for an allegation of hazing to be upheld; (ii) it shall not constitute an excuse or defense to a hazing allegation that the participants took part voluntarily, gave consent to the conduct, voluntarily assumed the risks or hardship of the activity, or that no injury was suffered or sustained; and (iii) the actions of alumni, active, new, and/or prospective members of a student group or student organizations may be considered hazing.

• Intentional failure to comply with the reasonable directives of the Title IX Coordinator (or designee) in the performance of their official duties, including with the terms of a No Contact Directive
• Intentional failure to comply with emergency removal or interim suspension terms
• Intentional failure to comply with sanctions
• Intentional failure to adhere to the terms of an Informal Resolution Agreement
• Intentional failure to comply with mandated reporting duties as defined in this Policy
• Intentional interference with a resolution process, including, but not limited to:
  • Destroying or concealing evidence
  • Seeking or encouraging false testimony or providing false testimony or witness
  • Intimidating or bribing a witness or party

The College reserves the right to impose any level of sanction, ranging from a reprimand up to and including suspension or expulsion/termination, for any offense under this Policy. The most serious offenses are likely to result in suspension/expulsion/termination.

Consent^{1, 2} is defined as:

• Knowing (conscious), and
• voluntary, and
• clear permission
• by word or action
• to engage in sexual activity.

Individuals may perceive and experience the same interaction in different ways. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each party to determine the other has consented before engaging in the activity.

• If consent is not clearly provided prior to engaging in the activity, consent may be ratified by word or action at some point during the interaction or thereafter, but clear communication from the outset is strongly encouraged.
• For consent to be valid, there must be a clear expression in words or actions that the other individual consented to that specific sexual conduct. Consent is evaluated from the perspective of what a reasonable person would conclude are mutually understandable words or actions.
  • Reasonable reciprocation can be implied consent. For example, if someone kisses you, you can kiss them back (if you want to) without the need to explicitly obtain their consent to being kissed back.
• Consent can also be withdrawn once given, as long as the withdrawal is reasonably and clearly communicated. If consent is withdrawn, sexual activity should cease within a reasonably immediate time.
• Silence or the absence of resistance alone should not be interpreted as consent. Consent is not demonstrated by the absence of resistance. While resistance is not required or necessary, it is a clear demonstration of non-consent.
• Consent to some sexual contact (such as kissing or fondling) cannot be presumed to be consent for other sexual activity (such as intercourse).
• A current or previous intimate relationship is not sufficient to constitute consent.
• If a person expresses conditions on their willingness to consent (e.g., use of a condom) or limitations on the scope of their consent, those conditions and limitations must be respected.
  • If a sexual partner shares the clear expectation for the use of a condom, or to avoid internal ejaculation, and those expectations are not honored, the failure to use a condom, removing a condom, or internal ejaculation can be considered acts of sexual assault.
• Proof of consent or non-consent is not a burden placed on either party involved in an incident. Instead, the burden remains on the College to determine whether its Policy has been violated. The existence of consent is based on the totality of the facts and circumstances evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable person in the same or similar circumstances, including the context in which the alleged incident occurred and any similar previous patterns that may be evidenced.
• Going beyond the boundaries of consent is prohibited. Thus, unless a sexual partner has consented to slapping, hitting, hair pulling, strangulation, or other physical roughness during otherwise consensual sex, those acts may constitute dating violence or sexual assault.³

Force is the use of physical violence and/or physical imposition to gain sexual access. Sexual activity that is forced is, by definition, non-consensual, but non-consensual sexual activity is not necessarily forced. Force is conduct that, if sufficiently severe, can negate consent.

Force also includes threats, intimidation (implied threats), and coercion that is intended to overcome resistance or produce consent (e.g., “Have sex with me or I’ll hit you,” which elicits the response, “Okay, don’t hit me. I’ll do what you want.”). 

Coercion is unreasonable pressure for sexual activity. Coercive conduct, if sufficiently severe, can render a person’s consent ineffective, because it is not voluntary. When someone makes clear that they do not want to engage in sexual activity, that they want to stop, or that they do not want to go past a certain point of sexual interaction, continued pressure beyond that point can be coercive. Coercion is evaluated based on the frequency, intensity, isolation, and duration of the pressure involved.

Incapacitation is a state where a person is incapable of giving consent. An incapacitated person cannot make rational, reasonable decisions because they lack the capacity to give knowing/informed consent (e.g., to understand the “who, what, when, where, why, and/or how” of their sexual interaction). A person cannot consent if they are unable to understand what is happening or are disoriented, helpless, asleep or unconscious for any reason, including because of alcohol or other drug consumption.

This Policy covers a person whose incapacity results from a temporary or permanent physical or mental health condition, involuntary physical restraint, and/or the consumption of incapacitating substances.

Incapacitation is determined through consideration of all relevant indicators of a person’s state and is not synonymous with intoxication, impairment, blackout, and/or being drunk.

If the Respondent neither knew or should have known the Complainant to be physically or mentally incapacitated, the Respondent is not in violation of this Policy. “Should have known” is an objective, reasonable person standard that assumes that a reasonable person is both sober and exercising sound judgment.

Saint Mary’s College recognizes there are risks in sexual or romantic relationships among persons in a workplace or academic setting between individuals in inherently unequal positions; this policy prohibits certain relationships between employees and students; and requires recusal (from supervision and evaluation) and notification in other relationships.

In General: In the college context, relationships with inherently unequal positions include, but are not limited to, teacher and student, supervisor and employee, faculty at different ranks including adjunct faculty, mentor and trainee, advisor and advisee, teaching assistance and student, coach and athlete, and individuals who supervise the day-to-day student living environments and their residents.

Because of the potential for conflict of interest, exploitation, favoritism, and bias, such relationships may undermine the real or perceived integrity of the supervision and evaluation provided. Further, these relationships are often less consensual than the individual whose position confers power or authority believes. In addition, circumstances may change and conduct that was previously welcome may become unwelcome. Even when both parties have consented at the outset to a sexual or romantic involvement, this past consent does not remove grounds for a change of inappropriate behavior based upon subsequent unwelcome conduct.

Such relationships may also have unintended, adverse effects on the climate of an academic program or work unit, thereby impairing the learning or working environment for others – both during such a relationship and after any dissolution of the relationship. Relationships in which one party is in a position to evaluate the work or influence the career of the other may provide grounds for complaint by third parties when that relationship gives undue access or advantage, restricts opportunities, or simply creates a perception of these problems. Additionally, even when a relationship ends, there may be bias (even if unintentional) for or against the former partner, or there could be an ongoing impression of such bias.

Since these relationships can occur in multiple contexts on campus, the following addresses certain context specifically below. However, all sexual and romantic relationships involving individuals in unequal positions are to be considered included, even if not addressed explicitly in what follows.

With Students In the Lasallian tradition, the teacher-student relationship is a sacred one; it lies at the heart of the College’s educational mission and its integrity must be maintained. The teacher’s influence and authority can extend far beyond the classroom and into the future, affecting the academic progress and careers of students.

Accordingly, the College expects teachers to maintain interactions with students free from influences that may interfere with the learning and personal development experiences to which students are entitled. In this context, teachers include those who are entrusted to Saint Mary’s to teach, supervise, mentor, and coach students, including faculty of all ranks, adjunct faculty, academic advisors, and staff of all institutional departments and offices. This section does not apply to Saint Mary’s students (undergraduates, degree completion programs, and graduate/professional) who may at times take on the role of teaches or teaching assistants, for whom are addressed in a separate section below.

As a general proposition, the College believes that a sexual or romantic relationship between an employee and a student – even where consensual and whether the student is subject to supervision or evaluation by the employee – is inconsistent with the proper role of a teacher or other employee.

Consequently, the College has established the following parameters regarding sexual or romantic relationships with Saint Mary’s students:

Sexual or romantic relationships between employees and traditional undergraduate students are prohibited regardless of current or future academic or supervisory responsibilities for that student. In addition, attempting to engage in such a relationship by an employee, even if no relationship manifests, is prohibited.

Whenever an employee has had, or in the future might reasonably be expected to have, academic responsibility over any student in a graduate or professional students or certificate program, such relationships are prohibited. Attempting to engage in such a relationship by an employee, even if no relationship manifests, is prohibited.               

No employee shall exercise academic responsibility over any student with whom they have previously had a sexual or romantic relationship. “Academic responsibility” includes, but is not limited to, teaching, grading, mentoring, advising on or evaluating research or other academic activity, participating in decisions regarding funding or other resources, and recommending for admissions, access, participation in events or programs, employment, fellowships, or awards.

In any case of a pre-existing sexual or romantic relationship between an employee and student, the employee must both recuse themselves from any supervisory or academic responsibility over the student, and notify their supervisor, department chair, or dean about the situation so that adequate alternative supervisory or evaluative arrangements can be put in place. This obligation to recuse and notify exists for past as well as for current relationships.

Failure to disclose the relationship in a timely fashion will itself be considered a violation of policy.

Between Students (Student Teachers, Teaching Assistants (TA), Resident Advisors (RA), and Graders) Many existing policies govern student responsibilities towards each other (e.g., see Student Handbook or student employment agreements). When undergraduate or graduate/professional students or post-doctoral scholars are serving in the teaching role as teachers, TAs, graders, RAs, or research supervisors, the following is applicable. 

This policy does not prohibit students from having consensual sexual or romantic relationships with fellow students, however, if such a relationship exists between such individuals in those roles, the student employee shall not exercise any evaluative or grading functions for that student.

The student employee must notify their supervisor so that alternative evaluative or oversight arrangements can be put into place.

Failure to notify a supervisor of past or current relationships and to recuse in the case of a current relationship in this situation will be subject to discipline under the Student Handbook Student Code of Conduct.

There are certain circumstances in the context of student teachers where recusal can be complicated (e.g., SI/T leader). For these circumstances, the faculty or staff supervisor, upon notification from their student teacher, would be responsible to ensure impartiality in the evaluative or supervisory roles played by student teachers towards a student in their course with whom they have a current sexual or romantic relationship.

In Other Contexts Consensual sexual or romantic relationships between adult employees (including faculty) are not in general prohibited by this policy. However, relationships between employees in which one has a direct or indirect authority over the other are potentially problematic. This concern exists even where the employees are in a pre-existing relationship, marriage, or domestic partnership.

Where such a relationship develops, the person in the position of greater authority must recuse themselves from any direct supervisory or evaluative function over the other person in the relationship. This person must notify their supervisor, department chair, dean, or human resources manager, so that person can ensure adequate alternative supervisory or evaluative arrangements are put in place.

The obligation to recuse and notify exists for past as well as for current relationships.

Failure to disclose the relationship in a timely fashion will itself be considered a violation of policy.

The College has the authority to take reasonable steps necessary or appropriate to carry out this policy, including transferring either or both employees to minimize disruption of the working environment.

Additional Matters If there is any doubt whether a relationship falls within this policy, individuals should disclose the facts and seeks guidance rather than fail to disclose. Where the relationship among the individuals is that of marriage or domestic partnership, this policy will not prohibit the relationship, however, all other conditions and procedures addressed in this policy will apply.

Questions may be addressed to your supervisor or appropriate dean, or to the Title IX Coordinator or Vice President for Human Resources. 

In situations where it is programmatically infeasible to provide alternative supervision, academic responsibility, and/or evaluation, the appropriate dean, director, or supervisor must approve all (as applicable) academic responsibility, evaluative, and compensation actions.

Employees who engage in sexual or romantic relationships with a student or other employee contrary to the guidance, prohibitions and requirements provided in this Policy are subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal, depending on the nature of and context for the violation. They will also be held accountable for adverse consequences that result from those relationships.

The procedures for investigating violations of the Consensual Sexual or Romantic Relationship portion of this Policy and the sanctions for violations of this Policy are the same procedures and sanctions for violations of the Formal Grievance Process as outlined above in this Policy.

This Policy applies to all students, faculty of different ranks, salaried adjunct and per-course adjunct faculty, staff, and any other employee who participates in Saint Mary’s College of California programs and activities.