According to California education laws, all students must remain supervised and on campus during school hours.
However, sports with after school practice times have been unsupervised during seventh period athletics for several years. Recently, school administrators, walk-on and on-campus coaches and Athletic Director Mr. Ralph Fick have been taking measures to completely comply with state policies.
“This is just a clarification that seventh period athletics is not unlike any other class,” Principal Dr. Jennifer Lashier said. “We can’t have students roaming around campus when they’re supposed to be supervised by staff.”
Administration is creating policies for track, varsity soccer and other sports who practice later in the afternoon. So far the main change has been for football players, who spent last fall roaming campus during seventh period. Former Head Football Coach Mr. Marc Shettleroe, like many other sports coaches, was unable to be at school until later in the day. Football players now spend seventh period supervised by Athletic Director Mr. Fick.
One reason sports have had a free period in the past is because there’s limited space for practice. The fields, courts, gym and track are used by multiple sports that need to practice separately. For example, boys soccer practiced after 4 p.m. because girls soccer used the same area during seventh period.
Some sports, like cross country and swim, use sign-in sheets to keep track of athletes. While sign-in sheets are helpful for taking attendance, students marked present to their seventh period class are expected to remain there for the entire time. Some students sign in to their class and then leave campus or wander around, creating a possible legal issue.
An immediate concern for Dr. Lashier and other administrators is the school’s legal responsibility if a student is injured while off campus during their athletics period. Education code section 44808 states that schools are only responsible for students’ actions and safety while students are on campus.
While the administration’s goal is to keep students supervised and on campus until the end of seventh period, however, student athletes prefer the freedom of the current system.
“I like having a free period because you can go home and rest a little bit before practice,” Senior Amanda Avila said. “I wouldn’t like to stay and be supervised for seventh period because most of us go get food before practice. ”
Sports such as baseball, Junior Varsity Swim and Junior Varsity Girls Soccer, who all attend practice during seventh period, are not affected by the rule.
TCHS School Newspaper