NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, ethnicity, religious practices, or political beliefs in any of its policies and procedures provided the student is of eligible and legal standing.

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STUDENT RIGHTS POLICY

In compliance with the Student-Right-To- Know Act of 1990, The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts students have a right to expect the following services, protections and freedoms:

1. The right to receive an education free of any discriminatory action based upon race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, ethnicity, religious practices or political beliefs, provided the student is of eligible and legal standing for admission to the College program.
2. The right study in a safe environment. The College will post safety procedures and regulations; however, students must conduct themselves so as not to place themselves at risk of injury.
3. The right to know the faculty’s expectations for academic evaluation and classroom conduct.
4. The right to engage in discussion and challenge opinions as protected and pursuant to the Academic Freedom Protection Policy.
5. The right to have reasonable access to faculty, administrators and available student services on campus.
6. The right to make a formal and written complaint or grievance to the College President, Dean of Students, the Executive Director, or President of the Board of Directors regarding any matter they feel warrants such attention.
7. The right to file an incident report with the campus Administrative Office in the case of emergency or accident.
8. The right to report all crimes to the local police department.
9. The right to participate in formulation of policy and procedures in accordance with the Ethical Principles and Procedures Committee guidelines.

The right to petition and/or organize student associations as protected by the United States Constitution.

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SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

Social Media is any form of electronic communication which allows individuals to view, comment, or discuss content. Examples are: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Vine, blogs, chat rooms, website chat spaces, etc. All guidelines and policies are meant to be fluid and flexible due to the constantly changing landscape of internet-based technologies.

1. All members’ public social media activity must fit within The Young Americans’ Mission Statement.
   1. Promote understanding and goodwill
   2. Be a positive influence on the world
   3. Promote positive cultural interaction
   4. Use common sense when posting and sharing content

2. Members are not permitted to use social media for the purpose of:
   1. Endorsing any political, religious, criminal, or controversial content or agenda
   2. Soliciting Non-Young American business ventures
3. All members must have all social media privacy settings set to keep any public individuals who will view the current member as a representative of The Young Americans from having access to all personal social media content.
4. Any member who wishes to communicate with individuals who will view the current member as a representative of The Young Americans must create a Young Americans approved secondary account for any and all social media sites. Approved social media has a clear Young American distinction in the title and all content fits within the mission statement of The Young Americans.

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ACADEMIC FREEDOM PROTECTION POLICY

The Young Americans strongly upholds the concept of academic freedom pursuant to California Education Code §71000(b).

The Young Americans is in its very nature an institution promoting the benefits of free thinking and the freedom to articulate one’s own ideas, positions and concepts. It is under this premise that all faculty and students of The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts have the right to express their positions as a part of educational discussions and explorations without fear of retribution or reprisal.

No faculty member or student can use this policy as a protection for attempting to introduce controversial topics into educational discussions that are unrelated to the topic, nor enter into the discussion with the intent to persuade any other individual of the absolute truth of one’s own position. Furthermore, this policy does not extend to cover any faculty member or student making a rebuttal or presenting a concept, if it is in the form of a personal attack. All positions and concepts must be expressed purely as ideas and concepts open to public debate and discussion within the realm of the course subject matter.

Furthermore, all concepts, positions and teaching methods utilized must not promote discrimination, racism or other biases as prohibited by law.

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ACADEMIC HONESTY

Student honesty and integrity is at the very core of the ideals we aim to instill in all The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts’ students. In achieving this, The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts expects that all students will abide by ethical standards in preparing and presenting material in demonstration of their individual abilities and knowledge. It is expected that all students attend The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts with the intention of abiding by the following standards of integrity and honesty:

1. Student shall not plagiarize any material. This includes passing off another’s work as their own or using a creative production without giving credit to all relevant sources.
2. Student shall not engage in any form of cheating. This includes using notes or aides unless permitted to do so by the instructor.

Student shall not engage in activity that aids another student in plagiarizing or cheating.

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THE PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY ACT OF 2009 COMPLIANCE POLICY

The Young Americans considers the rules and regulations set forth in the Private Postsecondary Act of 2009 to be the minimum standard acceptable for operation of The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts.

The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts will operate in full compliance with the rules and regulations set forth in the Private Postsecondary Act of 2009, including remitting requisite fees to the Bureau; distributing the academic Catalog to each student; maintaining a “School Performance Fact Sheet;” and other requirements.

The Board of Directors reserves the right to approve and implement policies, codes of conduct and operations procedures above and beyond the standards set forth in the Private Postsecondary Act of 2009.

Any student, faculty or staff member or member of the public may file a grievance complaint with the College President if they feel they are a victim of or witness to any violation of the Private Postsecondary Act of 2009.

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STUDENT RECORD ACCESS POLICY

This policy defines academic records as any record that reflects the student’s enrollment history and/or academic achievement.

The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts maintains all records on students in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the California Education Code. It is standard policy that all student academic records be released only with written consent from the student or the student’s parent or legal guardian in the case of the student being under 18 years of age.

1. Students’ personal contact information will be disclosed only to Officers, Employees, current students or current members of The Young Americans, Inc. Students must submit a written request to the Dean of Administrative Services if they wish to restrict access to their personal contact information to any of the above mentioned categories. In this case, the students’ contact information will only be released upon written consent from the student on an individual request basis. This policy defines “contact information” as a student’s legal name, address, telephone number, date of birth, and email address.
2. Any student may request access to their own personal academic and contact information records, and may challenge the accuracy of such records. Such requests and challenges are to be submitted in writing to the Dean of Administrative Services.
3. All records pertaining to a student’s violation of policy or conduct codes are considered confidential and will not appear on a student’s transcript with the exception of an expulsion. Access to these records can only be obtained by written consent from the student or a court order. The exemption to this ruling is a request from the Board of Directors or Executive Director in relation to a current complaint that is under review.

Any officer, employee, or volunteer, who as part of his or her job description, is privy to student information is bound to adhere to this policy and has a duty to respect the privacy of each individual student.

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POLICIES FOR MAINTAINING STUDENT RECORDS

All student records pertaining to admission qualifications, transfer requests, experiential learning, signed documents, scholarship awards, complaints and any written warning will be stored in a manner that is safe and secure under the student’s identification number and name. Hardcopies of student files will be maintained on site in the administrative offices for a minimum of five years after student withdraws or graduates from the program. Transcripts will be maintained permanently. Student records must contain:

1. Name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of each student who is enrolled
2. The degree or certificate granted and the date on which that degree or certificate was granted.
3. The courses and units on which the certificate or degree was based.
4. The grades earned by the student in each of those courses.

These records will be maintained for 50 years following the student’s withdrawal or graduation date from the program.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY

All students, members, staff and faculty have the right to attend to their educational pursuits or jobs free from sexual harassment. The Young Americans strongly upholds and supports all local, state and federal laws pertaining to sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment is defined as “unwanted sexual advancements, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to, or rejection of, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s employment or educational endeavors, or creates a hostile, or offensive work or learning environment.”

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SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY

Philosophy behind the Policy: Any sexual offense is a significant issue that affects all members of The Young Americans community. While is it the belief of The Young Americans that education is key to changing attitudes and beliefs which perpetuate sexual offenses, in particular sexual assault and rape, disciplinary policies can also play a major role. Furthermore, it is the timely and professional handling of such matters that creates an overall perception of The Young Americans ‘s responsiveness to and concern for its members.

Because of the nature of the acts, rape and sexual assault frequently go unreported. It is The Young Americans desire to create a supportive climate that will encourage survivors and complainants to report incidents. While no one course of action is recommended, formal reporting of these incidents is the only mechanism by which offenders can be officially sanctioned, thereby reducing the risk of repeat occurrences.

The Policy: The Young Americans seeks to provide a working and learning environment that emphasizes interaction among all members of The Young Americans in a manner that is founded in mutual respect, cooperation, and understanding and thus regards any act of sexual abuse to be especially heinous and a violation of the very core ethical beliefs of The Young Americans. Any form of sexual offense is a violation of both The Young Americans’ codes of conduct and state and federal criminal statutes.

The Young Americans acknowledges its duty to protect local citizens, students, officers and employees and thus maintains the policy of notifying appropriate law enforcement agencies of any incident of sexual abuse that is reported to The Young Americans officials with consent from the survivor. In case of a minor who is the survivor of sexual abuse The Young Americans has a legal and ethical duty to inform the local law enforcement agency regardless of consent.

This policy has been created in a proactive and preventive manner to ensure a campus environment that is free of these incidents. It is not meant to be an equal alternative to the criminal justice system.

When these offenses do occur, the focus of this policy is to provide due process for all parties involved and to insure that the complainant is not further victimized by institutional procedures.

For the purposes of this policy and pursuant to the California Education Code (§94385(c)) “sexual abuse” includes, but is not limited to rape, forced sodomy, forced oral copulation, rape by foreign object, sexual battery, or threat of sexual assault.

Confidentiality: The Young Americans will treat information that it receives in a manner that respects both the sensitivities of the complainant and the rights of the accused. Recognizing that rape/sexual assault are, by their nature, violent, criminal acts that violate the security of the entire campus community, there may be instances where it is The Young American’s ethical and legal responsibility to disclose information regarding the circumstances related to a specific incident to The Young Americans community. In such cases any notification to the campus community will be a general warning regarding a reported incident. If the complainant is a minor (under 18 years old), the law requires disclosure to law enforcement authorities.

In the case of a student, member, faculty, staff or parent request for information regarding a reported incident The Young Americans will confirm or deny the reporting of an incident and disclose The Young Americans’ response to the reported incident. Under no circumstances will any information, which may reveal the identity of any survivor or accused individual, be disclosed.

In guaranteeing the confidentiality of the survivor and the accused The Young Americans will retain a policy of no comment to any member of the press who requests information regarding the incident.

Parallel Civil Suit and Criminal Prosecution: The complainant making a formal report has the option to pursue both The Young Americans sanctions against the accused and criminal and/or civil actions.

Grievance Claim Procedure: This procedure defines how The Young Americans respond to reported incidents. Although The Young Americans encourages and advocates reporting rape and sexual assaults, it is ultimately the victims (unless they are a minor) decision whether to file a criminal and/or civil complaint, a conduct complaint, or any combination thereof.

1. A complaint should be made promptly and in the most expedient manner to the Executive Director or other person of authority. Any student, member, employee, or visitor to the campus who has allegedly been assaulted by a member of The Young Americans community may file formal charges as they deem appropriate.
2. The complaint will be promptly memorialized in writing and submitted to Executive Director. If, after review and investigation by the Executive Director, and/or others, there is cause to believe the complaint violates The Young Americans Sexual Assault Policy, the Executive Director will submit the complaint to the Board of Directors. If appropriate, the Executive Director or Board may take immediate action to ensure no further harm takes place.
3. The individual who files the complaint will be notified in writing if the complaint is deemed invalid, or if the complaint has been submitted to the Board of Directors. Where the complaint is deemed invalid the written notification must detail the reasons why the complaint was deemed invalid.
4. The Board of Directors is required to notify the individual whom the complaint is filed against in writing and allow that individual reasonable time to prepare for a hearing.
5. The Board reserves the right to request an in person private interview with the complainant, the accused or any other individual named by either party as a witness to the incident reported.
6. If the Board of Directors deems the complaint valid, the individual who is accused of sexual assault will be subject to suspension, dismissal, and/or criminal prosecution.
7. If the Executive Director or Board of Directors deems the complaint lodged frivolous and without merit, the Board reserves the right to subject the individual who lodged the complaint to disciplinary action.
8. The individual who files the complaint or the individual whom the complaint is filed against may appeal any decision to the Board of Directors or seek to file a charge pursuant to applicable law.

Rights of the Complainant include:

1. To decide whether to file a formal complaint
2. A rapid hearing, if possible
3. To have living arrangements modified, if necessary
4. To be present at the hearing
5. Not to have sexual history other than that between the complainant and the accused discussed during the hearing
6. To be separated from the accused during the hearing
7. To be notified of the outcome of the hearing as soon as possible
8. To be represented by legal counsel
9. To appeal the decision to the Board of Directors
10. Receive assistance with academic or employment problems that may have resulted from the incident in question.

Rights of the Accused include:

1. To be treated as innocent until proven guilty
2. A rapid hearing, if possible
3. To be informed, in writing, of the charges against him/her
4. To be given written notice of the hearing at least two calendar days in advance
5. To receive a list of witnesses (if any) who will appear in support of the charges
6. To remain silent
7. To examine witnesses and documentary evidence, and to provide an explanation and argument on his/her behalf
8. To be represented by legal counsel
9. To be notified immediately of the outcome of the hearing
10. To appeal the decision to the Board of Directors

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CRIMINAL ACTIVITY ON CAMPUS POLICY

The Young Americans aim to create a campus environment conducive to learning. Any criminal activity undermines this goal and as such, any offending person(s) will be subject to immediate reprimand from the administration.  The Young Americans also reserves the right to file a report with local law enforcement.  In cases of sexual assault, it is the right of the victim to decide if a report is to be filed, unless the victim is a minor.

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