FORT WAYNE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
Lane Middle School Athletic Code of Conduct
The foundation for a good sports program lies in acceptable academic performance and consistently good citizenship by the student-athlete. Participation in athletics in a FWCS middle school is a privilege. The privilege of participation in athletics carries with it varying degrees of honor, responsibility and sacrifice.
Athletes are set apart from the general student body by virtue of status ascribed student-athletes because extra experiences are provided the student-athlete through resources not available to other students, and because the student-athlete represents his/her school and student body. It is a result of these facts that the student-athlete is required to follow the following body of rules.
All participants in a school athletic program shall be governed by local and state laws, the FWCS School Behavior Code, the Middle School Athletic Code and the individual school rules for participation.
CUTTING POLICY
The coaching staff is hired for their knowledge, expertise and willingness to spend extra hours working with students in a particular sport. It is at the discretion of the coaching staff to decide who will be members of a team. Team members may be cut from the team at any time during the season for violation of rules.
PARTICIPATION RULES
Athletes will attend all scheduled practices and games (with the exception of holiday practices) and will be expected to be on time for each practice. Illness and other extreme emergencies are the only acceptable reasons for missing practice. The athlete or parent should always inform the coach when the student is unable to attend a scheduled practice. Each coach will set the practice attendance policy for his/her sport. MSAC sports take precedence over Club, AAU, and/or non-school sanctioned sports.
SCHOOL INSURANCE/PHYSICALS
All students participating in inter-school athletics are required to be covered by school athletic insurance. Accident or injury insurance is provided by FWCS at no cost to the parents as secondary coverage insurance only. Athletes are covered primarily through their parents’ health insurance programs. When an injury occurs, the student must immediately inform the coach. The coach will then file an accident report in the school office. Claim forms will be completed by school office personnel, and all questions about claims should be directed to the office. Remember, school insurance is only secondary coverage, so students must file with their own family plan immediately.
In order to practice and participate in athletics, all participants must have a current physical and a signed
Concussion Acknowledgement and Signature Form for Parents and Student Athletes, Code of Conduct, and Student Emergency Information Form on file in the school office. The physical must be completed after May 1st prior to the school year of participation.
ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT
All equipment must be turned in when called for and missing items settled for at that time. Students who willfully neglect to turn in athletic equipment will be ineligible for all athletics until they return the equipment and are in good standing with the school. Parents or guardians of the student athlete will be responsible for all replacement costs of equipment that is not returned to the school as instructed by the head athletic coach.
ELIGIBILITY
To maintain a high-quality athletic program, academic performance and demonstration of good citizenship are to be the prime considerations of each student-athlete. Any student-athlete who receives one F in a subject on a grade card is declared ineligible for interscholastic sports. Student service work will not count. Students who are ineligible remain ineligible until the next scheduled grade card is issued. The fourth quarter grades for courses determine eligibility for the next school year. The date grade cards are issued is the date of eligibility. Students are ineligible if they reach age 16 on or before August 15. Interim reports are not used to determine eligibility. Ineligible student-athletes may not practice with the team.
All Lane athletes are held to a higher standard than the FWCS policy. In order for athletes to participate on game day, all grades must be passing the day of the contest. On game days, all athletes’ grades will be examined. Any student athlete who has a D or F will not be allowed to participate in game day contests.
DISCIPLINE
Demonstration of good citizenship also is a criteria for participation in athletics. The student-athlete must exhibit good citizenship on and off the playing field. Individual behavior checks are optional but may occur at any time. Unacceptable behavior by a student-athlete must be communicated to the coach and administration for resolution.
Since participation in athletics is a privilege, a student-athlete who is disciplined for misconduct will face the following consequences:
In-school Suspension: Any student-athlete placed on ISS for ½ day or full day behavior problems will be ineligible to participate in any athletic practices or games on the day of the infraction. If an athletic game or contest is not scheduled on the day of the infraction, the student-athlete will not be allowed to participate in the next scheduled event.
Suspension From School: Any student-athlete suspended from school will not be permitted to practice during the suspension and will not play in the next scheduled athletic event after the student returns from suspension. A second suspension from school will result in the automatic removal of the offending student-athlete from athletic eligibility for the remainder of the school year. The athlete and parents have the right to appeal to the Athletic Commission (school principal, athletic director). Should an appeal be approved, the results of the appeal will be on file with the MSAC Commissioner, and he/she will communicate the results, as necessary, to school officials.
The principal/assistant principal will determine the current status of the student-athlete based on academic status, behavior reports and general attitude displayed.
Ejection from Game: If a student is ejected from a game, he/she will not play the following regularly scheduled game, including tournament play.