School committee upholds suspension of East Providence High cheerleader after appeal

The East Providence School Committee on Monday voted to uphold the superintendent's decision to suspend a student from the East Providence High School cheerleading team for the remainder of the season after a hearing on an appeal.

School officials told the committee that on Jan. 13 student A went to LaSalle Academy and pursued and physically assaulted student B in the LaSalle parking lot, according to an account presented to the committee and video provided by LaSalle. Alex Butler, East Providence High School athletic director, said the district applied its athletic code of conduct and removed the student from the cheer team for the remainder of that season.

The decision was appealed to the superintendent, who held a hearing on Jan. 30. After reviewing the record and the process followed by school administrators, the superintendent's decision to uphold the season suspension was maintained.

During the hearing, Butler stressed the district's expectations for athletes, saying, "A Towne athlete represents his or her school at all times, and will conduct him or herself in a manner that is befitting this honor." The district's written athletic code, included in the committee packet, requires athletes and their guardians to electronically acknowledge the code each season.

A parent of the suspended student spoke at public comment, describing the disciplinary action's effect on her daughter and arguing the penalty was too severe, especially because the season had ended by the time the appeal was resolved. The parent said the experience had hurt her daughter's grades and morale and asked the committee to consider more individualized review in future cases.

Committee members who voted in favor said they were upholding the policies and procedures as written and applied by administrators; one member noted the code requires athletes to accept responsibility for conduct that reflects on the school. A motion to uphold the superintendent's decision carried; a single member recorded a dissenting vote before the motion passed.

The committee did not revise the disciplinary action during the meeting and noted the case had already been processed through the athletic director and superintendent appeal steps.

Formal next steps for the involved student were not announced at the meeting.