| The purpose of this study was to describe how school districts within the state of Florida are responding to constitutional, statutory, and case law by developing and implementing policies and practices which deal with sexual harassment of students. Legal theories of sexual harassment, literature on sexual harassment of students, and policy issues related to sexual harassment were used as a framework for this study.; A case study approach was used. The research process consisted of three phases. During phase one of the research process, copies of district-developed sexual harassment policies and procedures were requested from all school districts within the state of Florida. Phase two consisted of in-depth interviews with school officials who have responsibility for compliance with the laws prohibiting sexual harassment of students. Phase three involved analysis of the data. The district policies were analyzed against specified criteria based on constitutional, statutory, and case law. Interviews were coded and analyzed qualitatively.; The following conclusions were drawn from the findings. Sexual harassment policy development and implementation in the state of Florida are in an evolving status. Seventy-five percent of the districts have policies that specifically prohibit sexual harassment. The majority of these policies lacked any reference to the protection of due process rights, timeframes for investigating and resolving complaints, and awareness and availability of the policy.; Several themes relating to the status of implementation of sexual harassment policies emerged from these interviews. These themes included recognition of the seriousness of sexual harassment, definitional concerns, limited awareness of policies and procedures, the need for educational opportunities, underreporting of complaints, and the potential for false complaints.; The study includes a discussion of how the findings relate to the literature. Implications of the investigation and recommendations for researchers and practitioners also are included. |
