Page 24
The INDEPENDENT, August 7, 2003
VHS Code of Conduct says students must avoid illegal functions
From page 1
in th e ir class w ork and have a
w ee kly m eeting w ith the A thlet
ic Director. S tudents who fail to
m e e t th e s e re q u ire m e n ts âî
any tim e “w ill be deem ed ine li
gible for the next w eek” and will
not be able to com pete. O nly by
m aking adequate progress on
probation w ill a student be a l
low ed to participate.
The C ode of C onduct says
that, “ Involvem ent in athletic,
co-curricular, and extra-cu rricu
la r a c tiv itie s is a p riv ile g e .”
Therefore, strict standards pro
hibiting the use of controlled
substances and requiring stu
dents to avoid places w here
such use occurs, are included.
In addition, “po tentially crim inal
c o n d u c t...th a t e n dan gers the
health, w elfare, or property of
others w ill not be tole rate d.”
D iscipline can result from any
situ a tio n w h e re the violatio n
has been observed by a m em
be r of the coaching staff, the o f
fe n d e r has been cited by a law
enforce m en t official, or “the vio
la tio n is d e te rm in e d to be
founded after investigation by a
district official.” Further, discipli
nary action under the C ode of
C onduct w ill be in addition to
any disciplinary action resulting
from violations occurring during
norm al school activities A N D vi
o la tions du ring school hours
w ill result in discipline under the
C ode of C onduct.
lete w ould be suspended from
play, but it w ill apply to all s tu
dent activities, including le a d e r
ship, and all situations - on and
off cam pus - at any tim e. The
revised C ode also m ore clearly
specifies the consequences of
any infraction and the responsi
bilities of both students and
te a c h e rs
to p a rtic ip a te
in
school activities.
P erhaps the m ost significant
change is that, in order to retain
eligibility fo r participation, a s tu
dent m ust not “be present at
a n y fu n c tio n w h e re a lc o h o l,
drugs, o r tob acco are being
used in an unlaw ful m anner.”
Further, if stu d e n ts d is c o v e r
such activity, “the y m ust leave
im m ediately." P articipants are
also e xp ecte d to conduct th e m
se lve s re s p o n s ib ly and w ith
good sp o rtsm a nship on c a m
pus, in the com m unity, and at
o th e r schools. C oaches or a d
visors m ay set additional s ta n
dards fo r participation in a p a r
ticula r sport o r activity, such as
a curfew o r dress standards.
P articipants in school activities
will also be held to the c o n s e
quences of the C ode of C o n
duct fo r any violation of p u b
lished school rules.
As in the past, students m ust
m aintain at least a 2.0 grade
point average. A student not
m eeting this criterion w ill be
placed on probation and m ust
Penalty for first offense
attend study table, w hich has
A first offense for use of a
been som ew ha t m odified. S tu
con
trolle d substance will result
dents on proba tion m ust attend
in susp ensio n from participa
study table at least three days
tion fo r 10 school days or tw o
per w eek, show im provem ent
contests, w hichever is longer,
and evaluation for and s u c
cessful com pletion of a d ive r
sion program . A first offense for
unacceptable conduct will re
sult in im m ediate suspension
from participation, however, the
student may be reinstated fo l
lowing a conference with the
coach, principal, athletic dire c
tor and parents and im position
of ap propriate consequences
(suspension, counseling, co m
m u n ity
se rvice ,
re stitution ,
etc.).
Penalties increase for
repeat offenders
A second offense will result
in suspension from pa rticipa
tion for 20 school days or the
b a la n ce
of
the
season,
w hichever is longer, and co m
pletion of diversion, if required.
Additionally, a participant may
lose an y ind ivid ual or team
aw ards earned during the sea
son. For a third offense, the
participant w ill be suspended
for 90 school days or the re
m ainder of the school year and
m ay have to com plete diver
sion. In all cases, participation
in the d iv e rs io n /in te rv e n tio n
program is required fo r any o f
fe n se in v o lv in g a c o n tro lle d
substance. S uccessful com ple
tion of the diversion program in
cludes continued com pliance
with any recom m endations of
the program adm inistrator. Not
com pleting the program or fa il
ing to com ply with recom m en
dations constitutes another o f
fense.
The end of a school year will
m a terial provided; interview ing
a law e n force m en t officer or
m edical professional about the
social and m edical im plication
of use; w riting a 5-6 page p a
per; m aking an oral p resen ta
tion to th e ir peers; m eeting with
a c o m m itte e to evaluate co m
pletion of the program .
not erase violations, either, as
the cod e provides that, “S u s
pensions shall carry over from
season to season, and from
year to year. V iolations are c u
m ulative over the stud en t’s high
school career." A third offense
of controlled substance rules
will result in suspension of p a r
ticipation until the student c o m
pletes o r com es into c o m p li
ance w ith the program re quire
ments.
Other changes include:
• S tudents m ust attend the
entire school day of an activity
u n le s s
p rio r a rra n g e m e n ts
have been m ade fo r an a b
sence.
• S tudents w ho drop out of a
sport or activity afte r the first
tw o w ee ks of the season will
not be allow ed to participate in
any o th e r activity during the
re gula r season.
• The addition of an A ppeals
C om m ittee, appointed by the
principal, to hear both sides of
a disp u te and m ake re co m
m endations.
Diversion Plan
A plan in keeping with the
educational goals of the district,
has been developed and will be
offered to all students required
to p a rticip a te . S tudents m ay
also volu ntarily request assis
tance from the school with re
gard to a tobacco, alcohol or
controlled substance addiction,
prior to being investigated or
apprehended fo r an offense. If
a s tu d e n t v o lu n ta rily p a rtic i
pates and succe ssfully c o m
pletes the diversion program
there w ill be no athletic or e x
tra -c u rric u la r a c tiv ity c o n s e
q u e n c e (o th e r th a n a n y re
quired by law).
The diversion plan requires
seven steps: P articipation in a
professionally con ducted group
a d d re s s in g th e use of c o n
trolled substances; reading the
Coaches Handbook
A handb ook fo r coaches will
also be presented at the m eet
ing, a lo n g w ith th e stu d e n t
handbook. T h e coaches hand
bo ok w ill define coaching re
sp o n sib ilitie s and include som e
provision fo r holding coaches
to a sim ila r standard of be hav
ior as students.
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Marissa Clement, 13, brings in another fish.
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IQ - 1 4 year?
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