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HAZING POLICY

I.     For purposes of this policy, “hazing” is defined as follows:

A.        Organizing, promoting, facilitating or engaging in any conduct, other than competitive athletic events, which places or may place a student person in danger of bodily injury; or

B.         Organizing, promoting, facilitating or engaging in a course of harassment, either oral or written or telephonic or electronic against another student; and

C.        In which the person or persons organizing, promoting, facilitating or engaging in such activity are supervisors or members of the same athletic team, club or co-curricular activity as the student against whom the activities are directed: and

D.        These activities are done with the purpose of initiating the student against whom the activities are directed into the athletic team, club or co-curricular activity, or to punish or otherwise discipline the student for actions by the student which occurred in the context of that student’s involvement with the athletic team, club or co-curricular activity, or are done in furtherance of some purported tradition in connection with the sport or activity.

II.    The Board of Education most strongly condemns the practice of hazing and declares that it has no place in any activity conducted under the auspices of Mainland Regional High School.

III.   It is the specific responsibility of the coach, advisor or other person designated by the administration to have supervisory responsibility over the athletic team, club or co-curricular activity to ensure that hazing does not occur.

IV.   The Athletic Director shall hold a formal meeting at the start of each sport season to instruct all coaches, aides and volunteers concerning the terms of this policy and the penalties prescribed herein.  The Vice Principal shall hold a similar meeting with all club advisors and supervisory personnel, as well as any aides and volunteers, for all non-athletic activities, which shall be held at the start of each semester for all such persons whose activities will be conducted during that semester.  Each person being instructed will be required to sign a form, acknowledging that he or she has been briefed as provided for in this paragraph, which form shall also contain the signature of the person providing the instruction and which forms shall be retained for at least one calendar year.

V.    The coach, advisor or other person designated by the administration to have supervisory responsibility over an athletic team, club or co-curricular activity shall formally instruct all student members of the athletic team, club or co-curricular activity as to the contents of this policy and the penalties prescribed with other coaches in attendance. This shall occur at the start of each athletic season for athletic teams or at the start of a club or co-curricular activity’s period of action.  Each student receiving this instruction will be required to sign a form, acknowledging that he or she has been briefed as provided for in this paragraph, which form shall also be signed by the person providing the instruction.  These forms shall be retained for one calendar year.

VI.   It is the responsibility of each coach, advisor or supervisor to ensure that no hazing occurs on school property, or any other location at which the athletic team, club or other co-curricular activity is playing, performing, practicing or otherwise engaging in activities related to the purpose of the team, club or other co-curricular activity.  This responsibility is not limited to the individual with direct supervisory responsibility for the particular group of students engaging in the hazing, but shall include all persons who witness the hazing as student safety is the individual responsibility of all employees of Mainland Regional High School, as well as all persons who are appointed to act in a supervisory capacity with regard to the athletic team, club or other co-curricular activity.

VII. Any coach, advisor or supervisor of any athletic team, club or co-curricular activity who promotes, facilitates or engages in hazing or who observes an incident of hazing and fails to stop it immediately, shall be removed from that coaching, advisor or supervisory position immediately and shall not be permitted to function in a similar capacity in the future except upon recommendation of the Superintendent and approval of the Board of Education.  Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent other disciplinary action, including, but not limited to letters of reprimand, withholding of increment, termination of employment (for non-tenured employees) or filing of tenure charges for tenured employees.

VIII.            It is anticipated that, keeping the primary concern of student safety in mind, all activity occurring before, during and after games, programs, performances, practices, training sessions, and rehearsals should be supervised to ensure that no inappropriate or unsafe activities are occurring.  Accordingly, it shall not be a defense against an allegation that a coach, advisor or supervisor failed to stop a hazing incident that the person in question did not realize that hazing was occurring if that person was physically located in a position where the hazing activity was or could have been observed.

IX.   Any student who promotes, facilitates or engages in hazing shall be removed, immediately, from further participation in the athletic team, club or co-curricular activity.  Additionally, any infractions of this policy will result in discipline being administered according to the Student Discipline Code.  Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent other disciplinary action, including, but not limited to expulsion.

X.    The consent of the student who is the target of the hazing shall not be a defense against the penalties set forth in Paragraphs 7 and 9, above.

XII. The prohibition against hazing is also intended to apply to any hazing which occurs off campus.