The Las Virgenes Unified School District Board is proposing revisions to the Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Code of Conduct. Co-curricular activities include courses such as yearbook, choir and theater. This new provision will add students participating in co-curricular activities into the pool of students that could be randomly chosen for a drug test. The current policy expects students partaking in extracurricular or co-curricular activities to remain drug-free in order to continue participation in these school activities.Any student who violates this code will face serious consequences including suspension from the activity and/or expulsion from the class. The rules will be in effect while students are on the school grounds, including before and after school as well as during activities students engage in on the weekends. Additionally, students will be required to maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average and have no more than one “F” in their classes.
However, with the approved revisions, the code will monitor students’ use of social mediums like Facebook.If a student is involved in cyber bullying or other inappropriate online activities that would negatively portray the school or district, he or she could face the same penalties as stated above. This proposal is a controversial topic as monitoring student use of social mediums can be considered as invasive, as well as abusing students’ right to freedom of speech.
The Las Virgenes Unified School District recently proposed a significantly stricter Extracurricular and Co-curricular Code of Conduct for students. Although the district claims that co-curricular classes are privileges, forcing students to undergo these unnecessarymeasures will ultimately weaken their drive to participate in extracurricular or co-curricular activities. 
The new Code of Conduct, under which students face the possibility of internet monitoring, is intimidatingto many students. By monitoring inappropriate conduct through students’ social networking pages, LVUSD unfairly invades its students’ privacy. This development will ultimately lead to a less involved and well-rounded student body at both Agoura High School and CHS. Extracurricular and co-curricular activities are essential to the educational experience of all students. Students gain necessary skills through extracurricular experiences that general education classes cannot teach. These courses allow students to apply themselves and explore their creativity. Extracurricular and co-curricular activities also act as a setting to work with others and develop a strong sense of community and teamwork that will later become essential in the workplace. If students are limited to general education classes, they will have fewer opportunities to exert their individual abilities beyond the note-taking and studying skills gained in general classes.
The drug testing and online monitoring included in the Code of Conduct is impractical, especially in a high school environment where students in extracurricular or co-curricular activities offer much of their free time to bettering the school. According to the Iowa High School Athletic Association, students who participate in activity programs tend to have higher grade-point averages, better attendance records, lower dropout rates and fewer discipline problems than students who do not. By proposing that these students face a greater scale of punishment than other students for illicit behavior is essentially punishing harder working students.
The new Code of Conduct includes measures that waste money and resources that are desperately needed in other areas. According to monitoringthefuture.org, a single standard drug test for marijuana can range from $14 to $30 per test, while a test for steroid use can reach $100 per test. This money should instead be used to support academic programs.
It is an undeniable fact that teenagers from every generation have participated in inappropriate actions, and such actions should not be ignored. However, the new Code of Conduct will not effectively alter this situation. In fact, it will deter students from participating in their activities and waste important funds. The considerable benefits of extracurricular activities, provide students with indispensable life skills, which must not be sacrificed for the impractical Code of Conduct. •
Ex
tracurricular and co-curricular activities are a privilege for students, not a right. With the implementation of the revised Extracurricular and co-Curricular Code of Conduct by the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board, students involved in any extracurricular programs offered at Agoura High School or CHS, ranging from sports to music, will be held to a higher standard of behavioral conduct. The school board representatives are in the process of strengthening the Code of Conduct currently in place. Students in extracurricular and co-curricular activities are in a position of representing not only themselves but their extracurricular program and the school as a whole. With a more serious and official Code of Conduct applying to a broader range of students in other activities and programs, CHS will become a safer and more productive learning environment.
The enhanced Code of Conduct will more effectively keep students from participating in drug abuse and other illegal activities that can damage both their academic and personal futures. Students involved in non-monitored illicit activities develop dysfunctional relationships with their peers, as well as their teachersand parents, experience drastic academic failures and have difficulty developing into contributing members of society. With stricter requirements for appropriate behavior on and off school grounds, students will be encouraged to remain uninvolved in these activities, as well as increasingly assured that their supervisors are concerned with their well-being and success.
Any action that could potentially damage the credibility of a student, such as inappropriate photos or wall posts online, may have far-reaching consequences. Inappropriate online behavior that is brought to the board’s attention will result in a suspension or expulsion from an extracurricular activity under the proposed Code of Conduct. This policy will lead students to be more aware of what they post on their online profiles. Furthermore, online profiling is common among university admissions departments. Students taking part in illegal activities, even when off of school grounds, damage the integrity of their school, district, 
community and extracurricular group. With the new policy in place, CHS will maintain its reputation as a safe learning and social environment. Any illegal or harmful action on the part of a team member will also negatively affect the other students in that program. Drug usage or inappropriate behavior online may lead to a team forfeiting a game, withdrawing from an event or losing a valuable member. The new Code of Conduct will help CHS remain one of the most academically advanced public schools in Southern California.
The proposed Code of Conduct will create a healthy environment for students to perform both academically and in their extracurricular activity inside and outside of the classroom. •
