The Riverview (Ark.) School Board announced last week a new spectator ejection policy to combat fan violence at extracurricular school events. Three strikes and spectators are out.
According to the White County Citizen, the school board has been discussing the policy since last fall.
Per the new policy, fans ejected for the first time would not be allowed to attend the next game or event. Fans ejected for a second time in the same season would be banned for the remainder of the season. Fans ejected for a third time, even from a different sport or event, would be banned for the rest of the school year. If a parent is ejected for a second time at the last game of the season, then their season-long ban would take effect the following year.
Superintendent Stan Stratton also said parents “would have to complete The Parent Seat, which is a National Federation of High Schools course that is online.”
Both Stratton and school board president Jeremy Ramsey confirmed that “most of the time when there is an ejection, it is a parent.”
The goal for Riverview schools is to create a safe and peaceful environment for both participants and spectators. The administration and school board to the White County Citizen that they believe the escalating consequences should create a clear, enforceable and manageable policy.
Officials, coaches, athletic directors or school resources officers can wield the power to eject a spectator from a game or event. Those ejection decisions are final and immediately enforceable, they said.
Management of which fans have been ejected and are allowed at events will be handled by the athletic director and the principal. School administrators will follow up with the ejected fan the next day to communicate the rules and the strike system.
