Changes to Fowlerville Community Schools’ athletic handbook will extend the application period of its rules, while also giving student athletes that have found themselves in trouble a chance to redeem themselves.

Superintendent Wayne Roedel says school officials have been discussing the issue of when training rules apply to student athletes, as many of the district’s athletic programs have become year-round.

Roedel says the rules listed in the former handbook really only applied from the first official day of competition in the Michigan High School Athletic Association to the last day. The rules didn’t speak to anything that occurred outside of that time frame, which caused concern as many practices are held during the off season and summertime. Roedel tells WHMI the first change to the handbook calls for student athletes to abide by the rules year-round and for the remainder of their high school athletic career. He notes the consequences themselves didn’t necessarily change, but more so how they apply or build up.

There are three steps in the district’s athletic consequences system, with the third violation removing the athlete from the program. However Roedel says the nice thing is that the second change to the handbook is adding a “positive behavior support system”. Athletes who are on one of the steps of consequence can move back a step for every six months of good behavior.

The amendments to the handbook were unanimously approved by the district’s Board of Education Tuesday and go into effect at the start of the school year. (DK)