JACKSON SCHOOLS TIGHTEN CLUB, SPORTS ELIGIBILITY

JACKSON -- The Jackson Board of Education adopted eligibility requirements for all students participating in extracurricular activities during a meeting Tuesday night.

A 17-member committee has met several times since September to develop a document outlining requirements for continued participation in activities including choir, band, academic bowl, speech/debate, cheerleading, pom pom and sports.

The committee -- made up of administrators, school board members, parents and district patrons -- was formed after a meeting in which outraged citizens questioned the continued participation of a football player who was on probation.

Beginning next year, students and their parents or guardians must sign a document which outlines guidelines for participation in extracurricular activities. The guidelines are based upon minimum eligibility requirements of the Missouri State High School Activities Association and the Southeast Missouri Activities Association.

Board president T. Wayne Lewis said the new policy also reflects the standards of teachers, students and patrons of Jackson schools.

"We were trying to find something to work with and knowing we would continue to work with it," said Lewis, who served on the committee. "The main thing is to get an awareness of basic MSHSAA guidelines."

New school board member Mark Baker also served on the committee. Although the requirements are not as strict as he would have liked, Baker conceded "this is better than what we had."

The committee convened in mid-September to study the eligibility of students involved in sports and clubs after school patrons questioned the district's handling the discipline of a student accused of showing a questionable videotape in class.

The student was one of seven boys involved in a prank gone bad in March 1999. The incident involved the "kidnapping," terrorizing and tying to a cross of a 16-year old boy, much of which was videotaped by a parent of one of the boys.

The boys were cited into the juvenile system, where they received punishments of community service and were required to undergo counseling. One of the boys also was placed on a minimum of six months probation.

Although the incident did not occur on school grounds, school officials became involved after several students said the video had been displayed in a classroom. The teacher who was present told administrators she didn't see anything, and the investigation was closed without action because school officials said they could not determine whether the video had been shown intentionally or not.

In September following a school-sponsored, public meeting regarding the incident, administrators learned that "a few minutes" of the video had been shown in a different class while the teacher was out of the room. Based upon the new information, the board suspended the student who had shown the video.

"The key was, it was shown," Superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said following the following the board's action. "There was not a question about it. For a few minutes it was shown. And the board took swift action."

A major point in the revised policy is the definition of "a creditable citizen". Jackson school policy defines such a student as one "whose conduct both in school and out of school will not discredit themselves or their school." Citizenship eligibility will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the coach/sponsor, athletic director, principal, parents and participant.

Another important clause regards students charged with criminal or juvenile offenses. Students may continue to participate in activities until a charge is resolved. However, if students admit to the charge or if "other strong evidence available to school officials indicates that the student in fact committed the offense," school officials may suspend or end the student's participation.

Students completing probation or other court-ordered sanctions, including community service, must be suspended from participating in activities in accordance with MSHSAA rules while the consequences are administered. After the punishment is completed, Jackson school officials will work with the coach/sponsor, athletic director and principal to decide if the student is again eligible for participation.

"It's like one of the teachers on the committee said: Just because they complete the conditions of their probation doesn't mean the sponsor will want them back on the team," Baker said. "We wanted to address that in the policy."