CHERRY HILL PUBLIC SCHOOLSCHERRY HILL PUBLIC

7. It is a privilege to observe a contest and support high school athletics, not a licenseto verbally assault others. There is no place in interscholastic athletics for namecalling to distract an opponent or the use of profanity from the stands.Sportsmanship is the number 1 priority at the high school level, so be a sport thenext time you watch a game.8. A coach once wrote: “When we lose without excuses and we acknowledge thebetter team, we place winning and losing in their proper perspective. That’s whenwe find out if we can be good sports.” Sportsmanship is a goal to strive for at alltimes, in athletics and in our daily lives.9. Good sportsmanship is learned, practiced, and executed. Respect for the opponent,spectators, coaches, and officials are a must at all levels of athletics. Atinterscholastic contests, behavior on the part of everyone should be characterized bygenerosity and genuine concern for others. Display good sportsmanship the nexttime you attend a high school event.DEALING WITH BIAS INCIDENTSFrequently Asked QuestionsOn June 5, 2013, the NJSIAA entered an agreement with the Newof the Attorney General. The agreement called for the NJSIAA andGeneral’s Office to join forces to help eliminate unsportsmanlike biashigh school sports. These FAQs explain the new rules being adopted byaccomplish this goal.Jersey Officethe Attorneyincidents fromthe NJSIAA to1. What are the new rules relating to bias incidents at high school sports?The NJSIAA is amending its Sportsmanship Rule to make it clear that the principles ofgood sportsmanship are violated by “any person (athletic department, staff member,student-athlete, or a fan or spectator associated with a member school) who engages inharassing, verbal, or physical conduct related to race, gender, ethnicity, disability,sexual orientation, or religion at an interscholastic events.”In addition, the NJSIAA Bylaws will require the Executive Director to forward tothe New Jersey Division on Civil Rights anyreported violation of the Sportsmanship Rule resulting from harassing, verbal, orphysical contact relating race, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, orreligion at an interscholastic event.2. How did these new rules come about?In the fall of 2012, the NJSIAA and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rightsboth received complaints describing alleged bias incidents at football games. NJSIAAstaff met on several occasions with representatives from the Division on Civil Rights andagreed on a plan to combat this problem.3. How do these new rules change the existing rules?8

It has always been a violation of the Sportsmanship Rule for any person tointentionally incite participants or spectators to violent or abusive action. It has alsobeen a violation of the Sportsmanship Rule for any person to use obscene gestures orprofane or unduly provocative language or action toward officials, opponents, orspectators. In addition, sports officials have always had the power to disqualify a coachor player for unsportsmanlike flagrant, verbal, or physical misconduct.What is new is that the NJSIAA is telling coaches, players, and officials thatprovocative language aimed at a player’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender,disability or sexual orientation, is every bit as unsportsmanlike as obscene orprofane language. Race-baiting, ethnic slurs, and taunting crosses the line andwill not be tolerated on the playing field just as it is not tolerated in theclassroom.4. Some commentators have said the NJSIAA is trying to eliminate trash talking insports. Is this true?The NJSIAA realizes that it cannot eliminate trash talking. But there is a point atwhich trash talking crosses the line and becomes blatantly unsportsmanlike. Ournew rules make that line clear.5. Is an official required to disqualify a player whenever he hears bias language?An official must always use his or her discretion when determining whether to disqualifya player or a coach. That discretion is based on the official’s training and experience, aswell as the game conditions and the overriding importance of maintaining player safety.If an official decides that the unsportsmanlike conduct crosses the line and meritsdisqualification, no warnings need to be given and the official’s decision is final.At the beginning of every interscholastic athletic contest the game official will read astatement to the team captain(s) that says:“There will be no tolerance for negative statements or actions betweenopposing players or coaches. This includes taunting, baiting, beratingopponents or ‘trash talking’ or actions which ridicule or causeembarrassment to them. It also includes harassing conduct related to race,gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or religion. If such commentsare heard, a penalty will be assessed immediately. We have been instructednot to issue warnings. It is your responsibility to remind your team of thispolicy.”6. What happens when a bias incident is reported to the NJSIAA?The NJSIAA may investigate the incident itself or refer the incident to theschool, league, or conference for investigation. Depending on the seriousness of theincident, additional sanctions can be imposed on the offending school, coach, or player.The NJSIAA will also forward every reported bias incident to the Division on Civil Rights.7. How does the new rule affect the conduct of fans and spectators?Schools are responsible for maintaining standards of good sportsmanship by theirteams, students, spectators and fans. NJSIAA rules state that a “member school withwhich an individual is associated may be to subject to disciplinary action if it is foundthat the member school’s policies, actions, or failure to act, substantially contributed tothe individual’s conduct.”9

If a spectator or fan engages in conduct that disrupts a game, the spectatoror fan may be removed by host school management. Officials can work with hostschool management to identify disruptive individuals.All schools, public and private, must enforce their own codes of conduct. Public schoolshave additional obligations under the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act. Thatstate law prohibits harassment, intimidation, and bullying on school property and atschool sponsored functions. Spectators and fans are subject to the school’s anti-bullyingpolicies, which are enforced by the schools themselves.8. Is this new rule a New Jersey State Law?No. The NJSIAA is an association of approximately 437 public and non-public highschools that regulates high school sports in New Jersey. The NJSIAA is not a stateagency. The new rules have been agreed upon by the governing body of the NJSIAAand will be formally adopted at the NJSIAA executive committee meetings in Septemberand October 2013.MEDICAL PROCEDURES FOR ATHLETIC INJURIESA. ATHLETIC INJURIES1. A report is to be made by the responsible coach or athletic trainer, of any injury,however slight, incurred by any student participating in athletics.2. The Accident Report Form (A-1) is to be prepared and forwarded within 35 hoursof the injury. Forward one copy to the following: Principal, School Nurse,Business Office, and Director of Health services.3. Procedures to be utilized for an injury:a. If, in the judgment of the coach or athletic trainer, immediate medicalattention is necessary:1. Notify parents/guardians.2. If moving the injured student is not hazardous, parent/guardianmay pick up student and take him/her to a physician or ahospital for treatment.3. If parents/guardians are unable to pick up student,transportation to his/her physician or a hospital should bearranged. Call ambulance squad, if necessary.b. If, in the judgment of the coach or athletic trainer, the injury is of anature requiring attention beyond primary first aid, such as an obviousfracture, profuse bleeding, etc.:1. Notify parents/guardians.10

2. Call for an ambulance and have student removed to a hospital;(see form for hospital preference) in this case, make certainthat the student is accompanied by either the coach or assistantcoach, and parents/guardians, if they arrive.c. Exercise every precaution in properly providing for the injured student.Do not risk moving, if injury appears to be of a nature requiringattention beyond primary first aid.B. MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR ATHLETIC INJURIES1. An accident report for (A-1) must be completed by the coach or athletic trainer ifa student indicates an injury, the next day or on a Monday after a weekendgame or practice. Forward one copy to each of the following: Principal, SchoolNurse, Business Office, and Director of health Services.2. Under no circumstances is a student to be sent by a coach or a trainer to aphysician for treatment. (This does not refer to the action taken by coaches atthe time of an emergency injury as described under “Athletic injuries”, but refersto treatment required following the initial physician contact at the time of theinjury. No specific physician is to be recommended by school personnel. This isthe responsibility of the parents/guardians.3. A student may not dress for, or participate in either practice or a game whileundergoing treatment, unless written orders are received from the examiningphysician by the School Nurse, Coach, or Athletic Trainer, signed by theattending physician. When written approval is received from the attendingphysician by the School Nurse, Coach, or Athletic Trainer, this clearance must beretained, and included as part of the student’s medical health records. Healthrecords are maintained in the School Nurses’ office.4. In cases where a student sustained an injury that did not require medicaltreatment, the Athletic Trainer, or School Nurse must provide written permissionto the coach, before there can be further participation by the student.5. In cases where there may be questions regarding the condition of an athlete’sability to participate in practice or a game, the school physician will make thefinal determination, in writing. The written orders will be maintained in thestudent’s health records.11

C. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENT ATHLETESThe Cherry Hill Board of education has purchased Full Excess Accident InsuranceCoverage for all interscholastic sports.Full Excess means that the insurance company shall not include that portion of medicalexpense resulting from any injury that is reimbursable by other valid and collectibleinsurance.SPORTS RELATED CONCUSSION AND HEAD INJURY (Policy 5141.8)thLegislation (P.L. 2010, Chapter 94) (N.J.S.A. 18A:40-41.3) enacted on December 7 ,2010 requires each school district, charter, and non-public school that participates ininterscholastic athletics to adopt by September 1, 2011, a policy concerning theprevention and treatment of sports-related concussions and other head injuries amongstudent-athletes. The Center for Disease Control estimates that 300,000 concussionsare sustained during sports-related activity in the United States. A concussion is atraumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a direct or indirect blow to the head or body. Inorder to ensure the safety of student-athletes, it is imperative that athletes, coaches,and parents/guardians are educated about the nature and treatment of sports- relatedconcussions and head injuries. Allowing a student-athlete to return to play beforerecovering from a concussion increases the chance of a more serious brain injury thatcan result in severe disability and/or death.To that end the Cherry Hill Board of Education is supportive of the care and treatmentof a student-athlete who is suspected of sustaining a sports-related concussion or headinjury.The following components are in the policy: N.J.S.A.18A:40-41.4- Removal of student-athlete from competition, practice; return.A student who participates in interscholastic athletics and who sustains or issuspected of sustaining a concussion or other head injury shall be immediatelyremoved from practice or competition. The student-athlete may not return to playuntil he/she has obtained medical clearance in compliance with local school districtreturn-to-play policy. All Coaches, School Nurses, School/ Team Physicians and Licensed Athletic Trainersmust complete an Interscholastic Head Injury Training Program. The Athletic Head Injury training program must include, but not be limited to:1. The recognition of the symptoms of head and neck injuries, concussions, risk ofsecondary injury, including the risk of second impact syndrome; and2. Description of the appropriate criteria to delay the return to sports competition orpractice of a student –athlete who has sustained a concussion or other headinjury. An Athletic Head Injury Training program such as the National Federation of StateHigh Schools Association online “Concussion in Sports” training program or a12

comparable program that meets mandated criteria shall be completed by the abovenamed staff or others named by local district/school policy. Additional head injurytraining programs that meet the mandated criteria may be completed byprofessionals of different levels of medical knowledge and training. Guidance forthese additional training programs will be provided by the NJDOE. Distribution of NJ Department of Education Concussion and Head Injury fact sheet(See Appendix C of Policy 5141.8, 3 pages) to every student-athlete whoparticipates in interscholastic sports. Every student that participates ininterscholastic sports shall obtain a signed acknowledgement of the receipt of thefact sheet (See appendix A of the Policy) by the student-athlete’s parent/ guardianand such acknowledgement will be kept in the school’s files for future reference.Model Concussion Protocol for the Prevention and Treatment of Sports-RelatedConcussions and Head InjuriesPrevention1. Pre-season baseline testing.2. Review of educational information for student-athletes on prevention ofconcussions.3. Reinforcement of the importance of early identification and treatment ofconcussions to improve recovery. Student-athletes who are exhibiting the signs or symptoms of a sports-relatedconcussion or other head injuries during practice or competition shall beimmediately removed from play and may not return to play that day.Possible Signs of Concussion:(Could be observed by Coaches, Licensed Athletic Trainer, School/Team Physician,School Nurse)1. Appears dazed, stunned, or disoriented.2. Forgets plays, or demonstrates short term memory difficulty.3. Exhibits difficulties with balance or coordination.4. Answers questions slowly or inaccurately.5. Loses consciousness.13

Possible Symptoms of Concussion(Reported by the student athlete to Coaches, Licensed Athletic Trainer, School/Team Physician, School Nurse, Parent/ Guardian)1. Headache2. Nausea/Vomiting3. Balance problems or dizziness.4. Double vision or changes in vision.5. Sensitivity to light or sound/noise.6. Feeling sluggish or foggy.7. Difficulty with concentration and short term memory.8. Sleep disturbance.9. Irritability Student-Athletes must be evaluated by a physician or licensed health care providertrained in the evaluation and management of concussion to determine thepresence or absence of a sports-related concussion or head injuries. To return to practice and competition the student-athlete must follow the protocol:1. Immediate removal from competition or practice. 911 should be called if thereis a deterioration of symptoms, loss of consciousness, or direct neck painassociated with the injury.2. When available the student-athlete should be evaluated by the school’slicensed healthcare provider who is trained in the evaluation andmanagement of concussions.3. School personnel (Athletic Director/Building Administrator, Licensed AthleticTrainer, School Nurse, Coach, etc.) should make contact with the studentathlete’s parent/guardian and inform him/her of the suspected sports-relatedconcussion or head injury.4. School personnel (Athletic Director/ Building Administrator, Licensed AthleticTrainer, School Nurse, Coach, etc.) shall provide the student-athlete withdistrict board of education approved suggestions for management/ medicalchecklist to provide their parent/guardian and physician or other licensedhealthcare professional trained in the evaluation and management of sportsrelated concussions and other head injuries (See attachment sections at endof model policy for examples CDC, NCAA, etc.)5. The student-athlete must receive written clearance from a physician, trainedin the evaluation and management of concussions that states the studentathlete is asymptomatic at rest and may begin the local districts’ graduatedreturn-to-play protocol. Medical clearance that is inconsistent with district,charter, and non-public school policy may not be accepted and such matterswill be referred to the school/team physician.14

Graduated Return to Competition and Practice Protocol Complete physical, cognitive, emotional, and social rest is advised while thestudent-athlete is experiencing symptoms and signs of a sports-relatedconcussion or other head injury. (Minimize mental exertion, limitingoverstimulation, multi-tasking etc.) After written medical clearance is given by a physician trained in the evaluationand management of concussions stating that the student-athlete isasymptomatic at rest, the student-athlete may begin a graduated individualizedreturn-to-play protocol supervised by a licensed athletic trainer, school/teamphysician or in cases where the afore mentioned are not available a physician orlicensed health care provider trained in the evaluation and management ofsports-related concussions. The following steps should be followed:1. Completion of a full day of normal cognitive activities (school day, studyingfor tests, watching practice, interacting with peers) without re-emergence ofany signs or symptoms. If no return of symptoms, next day advance to:2. Light aerobic exercise, which includes walking, swimming, or stationarycycling, keeping the intensity to less than 70% maximum percentage heartrate: no resistance training. The objective of this step is increased heartrate. If no return of symptoms, next day advance to:3. Sport-specific exercise including skating, and/or running; no head i

CHERRY HILL PUBLIC SCHOOL INFORMATION Cherry Hill East Cherry Hill West 1750 Kresson Rd. 2101 Chapel Ave. Cherry Hill, N.J. 08003 Cherry Hill, N.J. 08002 (856) 424-2222 (856) 663-8006 SUPERINTENDENT : Dr. Joseph Meloche Malberg Administration Bldg. 45 Ranoldo Terrace