The Cole R-V School District provides opportunities for students to participate in interscholastic activities and athletics. The interscholastic programs should encourage participation by as many students as possible and should be carried on with the best interests of the students as the primary consideration. The programs are expected to be well-organized and well-conducted and to have a positive influence on the students and the community.
Participation in interscholastic and extracurricular activities is a privilege and not a right. Interscholastic competition may be withheld from any student as a condition of discipline. Furthermore, all policies that apply to the regular school day apply also to interscholastic competition. Coaches and sponsors may establish policies for their groups in addition to those set out by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
Students must be in attendance for at least 4 of the 7 full classroom hours on days of extracurricular participation. Failure to do so will eliminate the student from practice/participation that day. Exceptions may be made in special circumstances. Students whose attendance percentage is below 90% will not be allowed to attend extracurricular events for the remainder of the semester unless there are extenuating circumstances.
If a student misses class on the date of a practice or contest without being excused by the principal, the student is ineligible on that date for practice or for a contest and is not considered eligible again until the student attends a full day of class without an unexcused absence.
If a student has an in-school suspension or an out-of-school suspension, he or she is not permitted to attend extracurricular events until the suspension has been completed.
Academic Requirements
All students must maintain a minimum 2.0 on a 4.0 grade point scale in order to participate in extracurricular activities. Participation in extracurricular activities shall not be limited to sport activities, and students involved in groups, clubs, and teams shall abide by the rules and regulations of the constitution of each individual extracurricular activity, as well as carry the required grade point average. Coaches will be allowed access to the grades of their student-athletes in order to verify that their student-athletes remain in good standing for participation in extracurricular activities.
Eligibility shall be determined at each grading period (mid-quarter and quarter). Students who carry any F in one or more classes at the end of a grading period will be ineligible to attend any extracurricular activities until the next progress reports are published. At the end of each grading period, the grade will be reviewed, and any F’s that have been raised to a passing grade and all grades are passing, the student will be allowed to attend extracurricular activities. A grading period is defined by the mid-quarter or quarter grade (generally every 4-5 weeks). If a student has a passing semester grade, but the most recent quarter grade is failing, that student will still be ineligible. Should a student have only one F at mid-quarter or quarter grade check for the first time during the school year, the student can request a grade check after one week.
Alcohol and Drug Possession or Use
Any student wishing to represent the Cole County R-V School District in any extracurricular activity will be required to abstain from the use and possession of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal or performance-enhancing drugs, as well as participate in the district's random drug testing program.
If at any time during the school year an athlete is charged by a law enforcement official with an offense that involves alcohol, that athlete will be suspended for 20% of the maximum allowable number of regular season contests permitted by MSHSAA. If a second offense occurs, the athlete will be suspended from all activities for the remainder of the school year.
If at any time during the school year an athlete is charged by a law enforcement official with an offense that involves drugs, that athlete will be suspended for 40% of the maximum allowable number of regular season contests permitted by MSHSAA. If a second offense occurs, the athlete will be suspended from all activities for the remainder of the school year.
For purposes of these two rules, the school year will begin on the first day of fall practices and conclude when the spring seasons end. Tournaments will be counted as two contests. In both cases, coaches have the option of imposing additional consequences.
Random Drug Testing
The Cole R-V School District will conduct monthly random drug tests for students participating in extracurricular activities. This policy is not intended to be disciplinary or punitive in nature. It is intended to act as a deterrent to the use of drugs.
Procedures for Testing:
Consent: The parent/guardian and the student participating in extracurricular activities are required to sign a Drug Testing Consent Form prior to participation in any extracurricular activity. Refusal to test when randomly selected will be considered a positive test result and will be subject to the actions specified below for positive tests.
Medication: Students participating in extracurricular activities who are or have been taking prescription medication must provide verification (either by a copy of the prescription or by doctor’s authorization) if requested by the school administration. Students who refuse to provide verification and test positive will be subject to the actions specified below for positive tests.
Selection: Random testing will be conducted monthly. Students selected for random testing will be chosen by having their assigned number (students will be assigned numbers to ensure anonymity) drawn from a pool of students.
Testing: Testing will be administered by urinalysis or, if necessary, oral saliva swab. Appropriate steps will be taken to respect the privacy of students while at the same time preventing falsification of the testing. Testing laboratories will not be given a student’s name or personally identifiable information about the student. Test results will remain confidential and will only be released on a need-to-know basis in accordance with applicable law.
Positive Test: If a student’s test indicates a positive result, the test will be sent to a lab for confirmation. If the lab confirms a positive result, a school administrator will make contact with parents to confirm any prescriptions a student may have. If no medications can be verified, then the student will be suspended from extracurricular activities until completion of a negative test result. The student will be tested each month following a positive test result until receiving a negative test result.
A student must complete a negative test in order to resume participation in extracurricular activities.
Sixth Grade Athletic Participation
MSHSAA has approved sixth grade participation in middle school athletics. The Cole R-V School District will only allow sixth grade participation on an as-needed basis as determined by the administration (superintendent, high school principal, and athletic director) for the sole purpose of providing enough players in order to field a team. Middle school athletic participation will otherwise remain limited to students in the seventh and eighth grades.
Hazing
Student hazing is expressly prohibited by Board of Education policy. Hazing is defined as an abusive, often humiliating form of initiation into or affiliation with a group, including any willful action taken or situation created which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health of another. Conduct prohibited by this policy includes, but is not limited to, exposure or contact of genitals, buttocks, or breasts (female students), directly or indirectly through contact with undergarments; threats of physical harm; and infliction of physical or mental harm or humiliation.
Student hazing is inconsistent with the educational goals of the Cole County R-V School District and poses a significant risk to the physical and mental welfare of students. Hazing of students, on or off district property, is prohibited and may result in suspension or expulsion from school and from activity or athletic participation.
Nonstudents who participate or enable the hazing of students may be excluded from attendance at school activities and school athletic events. District employees, including sponsors and coaches who have knowledge of student hazing but fail to take corrective action will be subject to discipline up to and including termination.