The impact of student-to-student sexual harassment and its legal implications for educators as perceived by principals, counselors, and teachers in selected middle schools in Harris County, Texas

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in the perceptions of principals, counselors, and teachers in selected middle schools regarding the impact of student-to-student sexual harassment on middle school students. A secondary purpose was to determine if there were differences in the perceptions of the principals, counselors, and teachers in selected middle schools regarding the legal implications for educators as related to student-to-student sexual harassment on middle school students.; The conclusions of this study were: (1) Principals and counselors generally perceived the impact of student-to-student sexual harassment to have a more negative effect on a student than did teachers. When the overall impact was viewed separately in terms of the way such student-to-student sexual harassment affects a student emotionally, behaviorally, and educationally, principals and counselors also perceived the emotional, behavioral, and educational impact on a student to have more negative effect on the student than did teachers. (2) Each group of educators perceived that a school district could be held liable for student-to-student sexual harassment if school personnel had knowledge of the harassment. There was, however, significant difference in the perception of the three groups regarding liability for individual school employees in terms of student-to-student sexual harassment. In general, principals perceived the individual liability more frequently than did counselors or teachers.; It is recommended that school districts and teacher preparation universities collaborate in their teacher training programs to ensure that teachers, as well as principals and counselors, are aware of: (1) The debilitating effects of student-to-student sexual harassment and the means in which to address such harassment in schools, and (2) The legal liability that student-to-student sexual harassment poses for school districts as well as individual school employees.