Original Date: 6\/24\/2026<\/p>\n
Policy Contact:\u00a0Vice President, Human Resources<\/p>\n
To\u00a0maintain\u00a0a healthy and respectful educational and work environment, Bellevue College prohibits romantic or sexual relationships between an employee and an individual over whom the employee has a position of academic or professional authority. In some cases, a written management plan may be entered when the relationship is promptly\u00a0disclosed, and management is\u00a0feasible. This policy does not restrict employees’ legal rights as citizens, including those of association and expression and protection from discrimination based on marital status. However, when the exercise of those rights conflicts with the institutional necessity of impartiality in academic and employment decisions, and a relationship creates a conflict of interest that cannot be effectively managed through an acceptable management plan, the college may take corrective action in accordance with the terms and conditions of employment governing the employee’s employment relationship with the college.<\/p>\n
Violations of this policy, including failure to report,\u00a0comply with\u00a0directives, or retaliation of any kind will be subject to relevant disciplinary procedures under collective bargaining agreements, the student conduct code, and other college polices.<\/p>\n
Romantic relationships between and among Bellevue College employees and\/or students can lead to a conflict of interest that is detrimental to the functioning of the college because, if present, the professional authority under which employees’ decisions are made may be called into question. Romantic relationships where one person holds authority over another can create conflicts that interfere with the college\u2019s responsibilities and obligations. Examples include the following:<\/p>\n
The college recognizes the importance of personal, consensual relationships but emphasizes the need to prevent negative consequences that may arise from romantic or sexual relationships within the college community, including but not limited to:<\/p>\n
A consensual relationship is when individuals mutually consent to a romantic, physically intimate, and\/or sexual relationship, whether casual or serious, short- or long-term. For purposes of consent to sexual activity, the definition of consent is provided in procedure\u00a01445P Title IX Sexual Harassment Complaint (Procedures).<\/a><\/p>\n A\u202fhostile\u202fwork\u202fenvironment\u202foccurs\u202fwhen\u202funwelcome\u202fconduct\u202fbased\u202fon\u202fa\u202fprotected\u202fcharacteristic\u202fis\u202fsevere\u202for\u202fpervasive\u202fenough\u202fto\u202fcreate a work environment that a reasonable person would consider\u202fan\u202fintimidating,\u202fabusive,\u202for\u202foffensive\u202fworkplace.<\/p>\n An employee has a position of academic or professional authority over another person when the employee has or may\u00a0reasonably anticipate\u00a0a future responsibility for the following actions involving another individual:<\/p>\n This definition applies to off-campus, curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities.<\/p>\n This policy applies to all Bellevue College employees, full-time and part-time, including:<\/p>\n This policy applies to consensual relationships. When there is a concern\u00a0regarding\u00a0sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, or discrimination, policy 1445 Title IX Sexual Harassment or other policies may also apply.<\/p>\n Unless an approved management plan is in place, romantic or sexual relationships between an employee and an individual over whom the employee has a position of academic or professional authority are prohibited. For example:<\/p>\n Faculty, other employees, and volunteers are prohibited from engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with students they currently or in the\u00a0foreseeable future\u00a0will:<\/p>\n Faculty, other employees, and volunteers are prohibited from engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with employees or other faculty whom they:<\/p>\n All faculty, classified and exempt administrative employees, and all other types of employees, including student and temporary hourly categories, are strongly discouraged from entering romantic and\/or sexual relationships with students.<\/p>\n Student \u2013 student relationships are subject to the Student Code of Conduct policy 2050, WAC 132H-126.<\/p>\n Retaliation against any individual because that person has made a report or\u00a0assisted\u00a0with a report or investigation under this policy is prohibited and may constitute an independent basis for corrective or disciplinary action. Reporters are protected from retaliation under\u00a0policy 1440<\/a>.<\/p>\n Retaliation includes:<\/p>\n First amendment protected activities are not considered retaliation. (See\u00a0policy 6120 Expressive Activities WAC 132H-142<\/a>).<\/p>\n Original 6\/24\/2026<\/p>\n Board of Trustees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Original Date: 6\/24\/2026 Policy Contact:\u00a0Vice President, Human Resources Policy To\u00a0maintain\u00a0a healthy and respectful educational and work environment, Bellevue College prohibits romantic or sexual relationships between an employee and an individual over whom the employee has a position of academic or professional authority. In some cases, a written management plan may be entered when the relationship ...more about 4460: Consensual Romantic or Sexual Relationships Between Faculty, Staff, and\/or Students<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2785,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-4358","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2785"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4358"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4367,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4358\/revisions\/4367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/policies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Hostile or offensive environment<\/h4>\n
Position of academic or professional authority<\/h4>\n
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Responsibilities<\/h3>\n
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Prohibited Relationships<\/h3>\n
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Retaliation<\/h3>\n
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Relevant Laws and Other Resources<\/h2>\n
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Revision History<\/h2>\n
Approved By<\/h2>\n