Contract Comedy? Students Say School Drug And Alcohol Contracts Are Often Ignored

The first day of fall sports is always filled with team meetings, uniform assignments, nerve-racking drills and - of course - piles of clearance paperwork. Physical health clearances, sports guidelines, insurance forms and so on.

All that paperwork seems to blur together, but one form stands out as the most important to some, and as the biggest joke to others.

The drug and alcohol contract.

Students in Spokane schools involved in cheerleading, ASB, or any athletic event must sign the High School Co-Curricular Activity Contract. This contract goes into effect on the first day of practice and continues until the awards banquet at the end of the season or the end of the elected term.

Mead School District follows a stricter set of guidelines - athletes are under contract for the entire year, not just during the sport season.

Both Mead and Spokane schools prohibit the same substances, yet Mead’s contract automatically suspends an athlete for the remainder of the season after the first offense. Out-of-season violators must also complete a substance abuse program with a parent before competing in the next sports season.

So, the rules are there. But what of the enforcement?

Most students interviewed believed there was no way any piece of paper could stop them from drinking, smoking or doing drugs if they want to do it. A South Side athlete said bluntly, “(The code) doesn’t work. It’s trash. Ignore it.”

Another area baseball player simply confessed, “We don’t care; we know we’re not going to get caught.”

But Ivan Corley, a coach of several sports at Shadle Park High School, disagrees. “I think we do a pretty good job,: he said. “We enforce if athletes use.”

But the overwhelming feeling among many high school students is that the codes are a joke. It’s common knowledge that weekend parties often are attended by the same football players and cheerleaders that you saw just hours earlier at the game.

One problem is identifying the violators. One South Hill soccer player, who asked that his name not be used, believes there’s no way coaches could effectively enforce the contract.

“It’s not like there are cameras in your house,” he said.

Yet, when asked if he thought coaches did everything in their power to keep kids on the right path, this soccer athlete admitted, “Coaches do a terrible job (of enforcement).”

Other area athletes, cheerleaders and ASB officers felt some coaches were aware of the problem of alcohol and drug abuse among those on contract, but they were reluctant to turn in their prize athletes and scholars.

“Some coaches know; they’re not stupid,” said one North Side baseball player who asked for anonymity. “Instead of losing a player, they’ll just make practice hell (for him).”

One North Side soccer player disagrees, however. “Coaches keep track of their kids,” he said.

Other athletes feel the contract is enforced depending on how important the athlete is to the team. One North Side athlete who admittedly broke the contract confided, “I had a much more serious offense and had less punishment than a J.V. kid who was just smoking (cigarettes).”

The majority of athletes interviewed felt that breaking the contract was made easy by oblivious or relaxed coaches and lack of administrative enforcement. Several coaches were called in an attempt to hear their point of view, but none returned phone calls.

Of course, not every student on contract drinks or uses drugs. Lots of them don’t. But overall, teens interviewed for this story agreed that kids who are partiers before they sign a contract will be partiers after they sign - rules or not.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES? By Ali Krogel, Shadle Park Before students can be eligible to participate in extra-curricular activity, they must agree to follow certain guidelines. Most schools districts’ policies are similar, but here are some details of the Spokane School District contract: The contract has several minor rules involving appropriate language, personal hygiene and equipment use, but the rule causing the most consternation and snickers forbids participants from the use, consumption, possession, sale or transfer of alcohol, drugs, narcotics or tobacco (including chewing). The punishment for violating the terms of the contract requires the offender to complete four, two-hour sessions of education intervention aimed at making better choices in the future. During this time the violator is excluded from competition and - depending on the coach - may or may not attend practice. A second violation results in suspension for the remainder of the season. In Mead School District, athletes are under contract for the entire year, not just for the sport season.