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District takes 2nd look at zero tolerance policy
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One alcohol or drug offense and you’re off the team. At least for now. That zero-tolerance policy has been in effect for student athletes in the Scottsdale Unified School District for as long as anyone can remember.
But it could change for the 2008-09 school year after governing board members questioned just how effective it is at a meeting Tuesday night.
The rule is fairly straightforward: Any athlete caught with alcohol or drugs, on or off school grounds, is dismissed from his team for the rest of the season.
If the offense happens in the last two weeks of the season, that suspension can carry over for up to two weeks in another sport.
“I don’t know that this policy that we have is preventing kids from using drugs and alcohol,” said board member Eric Meyer.
“Right now you’re just going, ‘Good luck. We know you have a problem. See you later,’ ” Meyer said.
Board member Molly Holzer agreed with Meyer, pointing out that the district moved away from a zero-tolerance policy for the general student population in the past few years because it didn’t usually discourage drinking.
According to the district’s student code of conduct, students caught with alcohol on school grounds are suspended for nine days, are required to take a drug intervention program, and must complete 40 hours of community service on their first offense.
Holzer said a similar system could work in the athletic code, with dismissal from a team being the penalty for a second offense.
But there were some concerns about doing away with zero-tolerance rules.
“This really is a choice these kids made (to use alcohol),” said board member Jennifer Petersen. “That’s my only question mark. What message are we sending?”
District staff will look for data on the success of alcohol policies and study athletic codes around the nation, then report back to the governing board in the spring, said Clif McKenzie, director of the district’s exceptional customer experience department.
High school principals and athletic directors will also have a say before any policy changes are made, McKenzie said.
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