KSD activities code gets face-lift

KELLOGG — The Kellogg School Board approved the School District’s updated activities and athletics code earlier this week after using a special committee to review and redraft the document.

The document, which is required for all students to sign if they are participating in any extracurricular activities, was full of clunky wording and lacked the continuity of being district-wide.

The school board had several points they tried to convey in the new document, such as it covering all grades (7-12) that are participating in extracurricular activities; that these activities are a privilege, not a right; that punishments were leveled equally; and removing ambiguous wording that could result in sentencing loopholes.

For example, in a previous draft of the document, a student getting caught on their second category B offense (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, criminal offense) was to be suspended for 80 percent of the upcoming games in a season.

Now, the policy reads that the student in that same situation will be suspended for 80 percent of that season.

Removing the word “upcoming” from all of the penalties ensures that punishments are handed out equally for each student, making it easier for students, parents and school staff to understand. This was one of the committee’s main goals.

“Last spring we had a committee look at rewriting the code and trying to make it easier to understand,” Kellogg High School activities director Mike LaFountaine said. “We met four or five times and discussed, drug testing, eligibility, different violations and looked at what other schools are doing. I think the violations are easier to understand now.”

The committee addressed the board’s concerns and streamlined the document by removing parts that were deemed unnecessary or outdated, and adding more current information which could help motivate students in trouble to better themselves.

“The committee took out self-reporting (lesser penalties for students who turn themselves in) and added some online classes for violations,” LaFountaine said.

For example, if a student gets their first offense for a category B offense and decides to participate in a school-approved counseling program, their initial suspension of 50 percent of the season can be reduced to 30 percent.

The code now spans the life of the student’s extracurricular activities, from seventh grade up to their senior year, which means that students who get their first offense in middle school would be on an even tighter leash in high school.

LaFountaine believes that all parties involved — parents, students and even the coaches — should make sure they are aware of what is written in the code and understand what they are signing when they agree to it.

“We have great students here, but sometimes they make poor decisions. We took a look at the code as it was written and said, ‘this isn’t black and white, there is a look of confusing gray area here,’ and that is what we worked to eliminate,” LaFountaine said. “I encourage all athletes, coaches and parents to spend some time with the new activity code to better understand it.”

The last time the Kellogg School District made any significant changes to their activities code was in 2016, when the school began drug testing all of its athletes.

The Kellogg School District Activities Code is available online at khs.kelloggschools.org/athleticsactivities.