On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Calls on Albemarle County Board of Ed. to Revamp Athletic Training Rule to Respect Parents' & Students' Rights
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. --The Rutherford Institute has called on the Albemarle County Board of Education to restructure a school policy that requires parents of high school student athletes to inform school officials if their child violates a pledge to abstain from alcohol, drugs and tobacco during the sport season. In a recent letter to school officials, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, outlined his concerns about Albemarle County's Athletic Training Rule and offered to assist in revamping the policy. A copy of the Institute's letter is available online here.
"The Albemarle County Board of Education's efforts to discourage student use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco is a worthy goal," stated Whitehead. "However, the Training Rule as it has been structured poses a serious risk to the rights of parents and students and constitutes an unwarranted invasion into the privacy of families. While we support the spirit of this effort to discourage underage drinking and drug use, any effort to combat it must be done within a constitutional framework."
Following an alcohol-related auto accident that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old Albemarle High School lacrosse player last year, school officials revised the County's Athletic Training Rule to require student athletes to sign a pledge that during the student's athletic season he or she will not use tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs. Parents are also required to sign the pledge and promise to "inform the coach, athletic director, and/or principals if there is a violation of the Athletic Training Rule by" their child during the athletic season. The promise to abstain applies at all times and places during the athletic season; penalties for violations are graduated, ranging from a required suspension from the team for a first violation to a permanent ban on participation in athletics for a third violation. Concerns that the revised policy may be "overreaching" and encroaching upon parental authority prompted several local parents to contact The Rutherford Institute.
Outlining his concerns in a letter to School Board Chair Sue Bell Friedman, Whitehead pointed out that by requiring parents to acts as agents of the state in compliance with the revised policy, the Training Rule threatens the sanctity of the family and runs afoul of judicial precedents against compelled testimony by parents, improperly injects the schools into family life, usurps parental authority, deprives parents and families of privileges otherwise provided by law, violates the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom (by failing to provide an exemption for religious students who may use alcohol in connection with a religious ceremony) and violates a student's right to equal protection under the law by singling out student athletes and their parents.
