Concordia USD 333 students risk participation in any extracurricular activity if they are failing a subject, have an unexcused absence, or misbehave not only at school but in the community, according to a Student Conduct Policy. In its second year at the Cloud County school, the policy also covers online activity. It begins on Page JHA-1.
School Board President Mike Cleveland discussed the unique guidelines at a recent statewide conference sponsored by the Kansas School Board Resource Center, which, like The Sentinel, is a subsidiary of the Kansas Policy Institute.
Cleveland said the reason for the policy covering the 60+% of the students engaged in extracurriculars such as sports, music, forensics, and other activities is simple:
“Extracurricular activities are a privilege, not a right.”
Cleveland added that the “Student in Good Standing” policy is an alternative to suspension and keeps the student at school in a learning environment. Chronic absenteeism, at nearly 20%, has been reduced by more than half since its implementation. He said the rules, popular in the community as well as with the faculty in the district, also pass legal muster:
“We had one person say, ‘Well, you’re going to get sued.’ All three legal representatives on our independent council, plus a KASB attorney, and KASB is notoriously on the liberal side of the world and risk-averse, said, ‘Do it’. There’s no legal case out there that could stop you from doing this.”
Concordia Superintendent Thomas DeBauche told The Sentinel how the policy was developed:
“Our Board of Education has been working on drafting a policy such as this for the last couple of years, including prior to when I arrived. Throughout our strategic planning process last year, our community spoke very clearly about the need for increased expectations for everyone in our district, from staff to students. Although much of this policy relates to extracurricular activities, it also includes eligibility for school dances, etc. Unfortunately, we have a small segment of our population that is not involved, so it would not necessarily have a direct impact on that segment of the population. What makes our district unique is the fact that we have high participation rates for our extracurricular activities.”
