Lakeland School District has established policies for student athletics and activities. Important points noted in Board Policy PRF 2920 are summarized as:

1. Students will meet the eligibility requirements set out by MSHSAA.

2. Any student failing a class may be required to attend study sessions after school.

3. Students displaying unacceptable citizenship behaviors may be suspended from participation

4. Each coach and sponsor will establish written guidelines for their groups. These guidelines shall be presented orally and in written format. A copy of such guidelines will be on file with the principal.

5. Students are not to engage in hazing. Students found to have violated this policy will be subject to suspension/expulsion from school and suspension and exclusion from activities/athletic participation depending on the severity of the misconduct.

Regulations and Guidelines

The following regulations and guidelines are expectations of the Lakeland R-III School District for its participants in all activities and athletic programs.

Academics

• A student with a failing grade (scoring below 60% in a class / F reported on a grade card) for any quarter will be placed on the ineligible list. Students on this list will be ineligible for athletic and academic contests, field trips, extra-curricular activities, and dances. Students may become eligible at the next midterm. 2nd Semester / 4th quarter grades carry over to the following school year for the purpose of this rule. (Exception to rule: Grades of 8th grade students do not carry over to freshmen year.)

• A student who is currently failing any course will not be excused from any classes to attend athletic or activity contests or events or any field trips. If the leave time for the team/organization is prior to the dismissal of the student body (3:16pm), then that student may not participate in the contest/event. The student may attend the contest/event through transportation at their own expense; however, the student may not participate in the event/contest nor may the student sit on the bench, be in the locker room, or gather in any other team/group designated area.

• A student, not already on the ineligible list, with one (1) F in any class may continue to participate in contests and/or events as long as the contest/event does not require the student to miss classes. Any student with two (2) or more F grades in any classes may no longer participate in any contests or events regardless of it taking place during or outside the regular school hours.

• MSHSAA By-Law 2.3.2.a requires students to pass 80% of courses in a semester to be eligible the following semester. At Lakeland, any student with more than one failing grade at the end of the semester will not be eligible for participation in MSHSAA activities, academic / athletic contests, field trips, dances, and any extra-curricular activity the following semester regardless of grades at midterm.

Class Attendance

• A student that is not in attendance for ½ Day (4 classes excluding Academy) will not be eligible to practice or compete on the same day. The principal has final decision for eligibility for a contest due to attendance.

• Students who are excessively tardy to school on the day of a contest (home or away) or excessively tardy to school the day following a contest (home or away) may not participate in the next contest unless accompanied by the doctor’s note or other prearranged excuse.

  • There is no excused tardy classification. All students are expected to be to school on time.

  • Excessively tardy is defined as 3 occurrences of arriving to school late the day of or day after a contest.

• If a student misses class without being excused by the principal, the student shall not be considered eligible on that date.

  • Typical reasons to be excused by the principal include (but are not limited to) doctor’s appointment, funeral, dentist appointment, school sponsored trip/activity, etc.

  • Reasons students would not be excused include (but are not limited to) family vacations, job requirements, providing child care, truancy, etc.

  • Any student who misses school because of illness for any part of the day may not participate in athletic contests that day.

Citizenship

• Students who represent a school in interscholastic or extra-curricular activities must be creditable citizens and judged so by the proper school authority certifying a list of students for competition. Those students whose character or conduct both in school and out of school is such as to reflect discredit upon themselves or their schools are not considered “creditable citizens.” Conduct shall be satisfactory in accord with the standards of good discipline. This policy is in effect 365 days a year, so infractions committed during the summer months will affect a student’s eligibility status.

• Violations do not accumulate from year to year. For the purpose of this handbook a year is July 1 to June 30.

• Should a student participant be in violation of this code with regularity, participation privileges may revoked by the administration at any time.

  • Students assigned In-School Suspension (ISS) may not participate in school activities. This begins at the time period from when student begins serving his/her ISS and concludes at 8:15am of the next school day after ISS is completed. Should a student be assigned ISS on Friday, that student would remain eligible for practices/contests until he/she begins serving ISS. ISS is typically assigned for Tuesday or Thursday (whichever occurs next).

  • Students suspended out of school (OSS) may not participate or attend any school activities or functions including at off-campus locations.

  • Any student who withdraws or is expelled from school because of disciplinary measures shall not be considered eligible for 365 days from the date of expulsion or withdrawal (MSHSAA By-Law 212.0).

  • Any student who is (1) arrested for, charged with, and/or issued an indictment or information regarding, (2) pleads guilty to, (3) is convicted of, (4) receives probation for, or (5) receives a suspended imposition of sentence for any violation or alleged violation of federal, state, or local law (regardless of whether the matter is pending in a local court, the juvenile justice system, or the adult justice system) shall, within twenty-four (24) hours of the action, notify the Activities Director or Principal. Failure to provide such notification within the stated time frame may result in the student’s removal from the respective team/activity. In addition, the student should note that by failing to provide this information, the student possibly jeopardize his/her respective team’s season and may cause the team to be placed on probation. If the student does not notify the school of the situation prior to the school’s discovery, then the student shall be ineligible for up to 365 days from discovery, pending review by the Board of Directors (MSHSAA By-Law 212).

  • A student who is involved with criminal behavior and has been charged will be ineligible until all matters have been concluded with the legal system and the school (MSHSAA By-Law 212.0).

  • A student who is found guilty of a law violation shall not be considered a creditable citizen until he/she has satisfied his/her fine and/or penalty (MSHSAA By-Law 212.0).

  • If a student is on probation under the suspended execution or suspended imposition of a sentence, the student must fulfill all special conditions of the probation such as jail time, payment of a fine, restitution, community service, counseling, etc. before eligibility can be restored. After the student has fulfilled the special conditions of probation, but remains under general conditions of probation only, the local Board of Education shall determine eligibility (MSHSAA By-law 212.0).

  • Any student participating in activities may be required at any time to produce documentation from the proper authorities to verify that student is a creditable citizen (is clear of any issues related to MSHSAA By-Law 212.0).

Substance Abuse

These rules are in effect regardless of location (on or off school grounds) and time of year (in or out of season).

• Drugs

  • First Offense – Suspension for 50% of the season. Must complete 10 hours of counseling at the student’s expense.

  • Second Offense – 365 day suspension from all activities.

• Alcohol

  • First Offense – Suspension for 50% of the season.

  • Second Offense – Suspension for one full semester. Must complete 10 hours of counseling at the student’s expense.

  • Third Offense - 365 day suspension from all activities.

The following rule is in effect regardless of location.

• Tobacco

  • First Offense – If at school, ISS will be assigned according to school policy and additional consequences assigned at coach’s discretion. If off campus, consequences will be assigned at coach’s discretion. Consequences may include, but are not limited to additional running or suspension from a game or games

  • Second Offense – Suspension from 40% of the current season

  • Third Violation – Suspended from all activities for 365 days from the date of the violation

Loss of eligibility due to discipline carries over to the next season.

• If a student is suspended for 10 games and only 8 games remain in the current season, then the student will also be suspended for 2 games in the next possible sports season.

Due Process

• Student participants who are disciplined for violating any of these standards will be afforded due process. The student will be allowed to explain their position to the Coach/Sponsor and/or Activities Director before any penalties are invoked. Any penalties longer than one calendar week (7 days) may be appealed to the Activities Director and then the Principal.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

• Student-Athletes

  • Any student-athlete ejected from a contest will be ineligible for the next contest. Furthermore, the student must appear in a meeting with the activities director, the principal, and the coach before resuming participation in contests.

  • The committee of the activities director, principal, and the coach may impose consequences ranging from loss of playing time to removal from the team due to any student-athlete’s ejection from a contest.

  • Any student-athlete ejected from more than one contest during a season will be ineligible for the remainder of the season.

  • Any student-athlete ejected from three contests during a school year will be ineligible to participate for 365 days from the third ejection.

• Fans’ Conduct

  • Any student, parent, teacher, or community member removed from the viewing area of a contest must meet with administration before the possibility of being allowed to return to school activities. Fans may be suspended from attending school activities after a first offense.

  • A second removal from any event will automatically result in a 365 day suspension from attending school activities.

Other Policies

Physician exam, Conditioning Requirements & Insurance

• All students-athletes must have a completed physical submitted to the high school office, school nurse, or coach before being allowed to practice or participate in competitions.

• If the medical exam is conducted after February 1st of the previous school year, then the physical form is good for the following school year.

  • Example: A physical completed on February 1, 2015 will be good for the 2015-2016 school year.

• All sports require a minimum number of conditioning practice days. Most sports require 14 days, but some programs only require 10. Please check with each coach on the policy for the sport. An exception is made for students who have been a member of another school sport squad immediately preceding the sport season, has been actively practicing with the sport squad, has had 14 days of physical conditioning and begins conditioning practice with the new sport squad with no more than seven calendar days having passed between the two sports before beginning practice.

• MSHSAA Bylaws state that a student shall not be permitted to practice or compete on a school’s athletic team until the student has verification that he/she has insurance that will cover the injury. Student accident insurance would meet the requirement. If insurance is a concern, please address this with the Activities Director so temporary insurance policies can be acquired.

Emergency Care

• Coaches, teachers, and sponsors are not doctors. Some staff members are certified in CPR, AED, and/or First Aid. We will always error on the side of caution by recommending a doctor’s examination or an emergency room visit as appropriate. School officials reserve the right to withhold student-athletes from participation in activities until cleared by a doctor when an injury has occurred.

• Any student who is unconscious or suspected of having a concussion will not be allowed to return to participation until cleared by a doctor.

• Any head injury where there is suspicion of a concussion will result in a student requiring to be cleared by a doctor before resuming competition or practices.

Preseason Parent Meeting

• A parent or guardian of the student-athlete must attend the team meeting conducted by the coach and administration prior to the first game being played in each season. Coaches will outline all rules and expectations for the season. The administration and coaches will be available to answer questions.

Supervision Policy

• No individual student or team shall be permitted to participate in contests without being accompanied and supervised by a representative of the school faculty or administrative staff. Coaches are responsible for supervision of groups while on the bus traveling to and from events, while at the events, and until the students’ ride arrives. Contests may not occur without school representative supervision. This includes, but is not limited to, practices, meetings, contests, and bus transportation

Transportation Policy

• Travel must be by school-provided transportation. Students must return by school-provided transportation. A student may ride home with his/her parent/guardian if the parent/guardian personally signs the student out with the teacher/sponsor/coach.

Transportation Sign-Out Policy

• The legal guardian (often a parent) of a student-athlete may sign-out their child to ride home with the guardian rather than ride the bus.

• Coaches reserve the right to require all participants to ride the bus to and from events.

• Only in rare circumstances may someone other than the legal guardian sign-out a student from an event. This must be approved in writing by the principal, activities director, or superintendent of Lakeland R-III Schools.

Dress/Appearance

• Each coach reserves the right to express in writing during the preseason parent meeting expectations for the student-athletes and dress and appearance during the season.

Admission Charges:

• $4.00 for adults

• $3.00 for (K-12)

Student Assistants

• Some students desire to be part of a team, but they do not wish to participate in competition. Therefore, students may assist the coaches in minor responsibilities. The following are guidelines for selecting and having student assistants:

  • Be selected by the coach in charge

  • Be responsible, dependable, loyal, and cooperative with coaches and players

  • Care for equipment under the supervision of the head coach

  • Attend all practices, meetings, and contests as directed by the coach in charge. Student helpers shall work closely with coaches during practices and competitions.

  • Be assigned specific duties and responsibilities for these duties.

  • Prepare designated pre-game equipment.

  • Follow all team rules

  • Attend team pre-season meeting with a parent

Athletic Lettering Policy

• Model good citizenship

• Maintain satisfactory grades

• Be responsible for and return all equipment and uniforms owned by the school

• Regularly attend practice

• Follow the rules of this handbook, the high school, and the school district

• Student assistants may be awarded a letter if they give regular attendance to their duties throughout two seasons (years) in the same sport

• Each coach may set standards for their sport for students to earn letters

Awards Banquet

There will be an athletic awards banquet at a time designated by the Booster Club to recognize the student-athletes, award letters and other individual recognition, and celebrate the success of the programs.

Multiple Activity Policy

• Students who are participating in more than one activity during a specific time frame of the school year may continue to be involved in both activities if they individually work with the sponsor of that activity. Activity sponsors will cooperate with each other to assure all students have an equal opportunity to participate, practice, and be part of a team organization or activity. Should a conflict for event/completion occur, the priority will be:

  • State Competition

  • Regional or Sectional Competition

  • District Competition

  • Competition which the student is an officer or captain

  • The event/competition in most need of the student’s participation as determined by the sponsors, student, and administrator.

  • The primary sport/activity declared by the student at the start of the season.