New policy meant to set uniform discipline

Mary A. Castillo

The process to create the Laguna Beach School District policy that

takes a stricter stance against student misconduct and student

eligibility for extra-or co-curricular activities was a long and

careful one.

Back in March, Laguna Beach High School principal Nancy Blade led

the charge to create a policy that would be uniformly applied to all

the schools.

“There were many different practices among different teams and the

drama classes,” she said.

Now that the board of education approved the misconduct policy,

the captain of the football team, the drama student or a student at a

dance will be held accountable in the same way in regards to grades

and substance abuse.

The policy states that all students who participate in extra-or

co-curricular activities must maintain a 2.0 minimum grade point

average to participate in sports, drama, dance, clubs or

school-sponsored field trips. The first time a student falls behind

they will be able to participate but only under a probationary status

until they raise their grades. A second incident will result in

suspension from the activity for the remainder of the school year.

The part of the misconduct policy that is raising questions

regards substance abuse. If a student admits to or is turned in by a

parent, school administrator or the police for alcohol or substance

abuse on-or off-campus, he or she will be suspended from extra-or

co-curricular activities for five days. A second infraction will

result in suspension from the activity for the rest of the school

year.

Blade does not expect that parents will protest the policy.

However, there are some who see the policy as potentially

damaging.

“Removing a teen from their sports is counter-productive,” said

Cheryl Post, founder of Brandy’s Friends Adolescent Treatment Center.

“You’re allowing them more time to become involved in drugs or

alcohol.”

The policy in its early draft form was reviewed by and met the

approval of a joint task force of city and school district

administrators on substance abuse, Blade said.

However, students whose actions bring them to the point where

school administrators must put them on probation or suspend them will

not be allowed to drift.

“We give parents resources so they decide how they want to go

about treatment as a family,” Blade said.

Students on suspension from an activity also will be required to

perform community service.

Students will be sent home with the new policy this week. They and

their parents are required to sign it and return it to the school