Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Coach Conduct Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board debates adding coach conduct language to job descriptions; motion to empower superintendent fails
Summary
After discussion about an incident where a coach stopped a game and spoke with a spectator, the Livingston Parish School Board debated adding clearer conduct language to coaches' job descriptions but took no formal action; a motion to empower the superintendent to draft new language failed for lack of a second.
The Livingston Parish School Board spent an extended portion of its April 24 meeting discussing whether to add explicit language to coaches’ job descriptions addressing employee conduct at athletic events after recent incidents in which a game was stopped and a coach engaged with a spectator.
Board member Ron McMorris introduced proposed wording intended to require coaches and employees who serve as coaches to limit communications before, during and after contests and to direct principals and administrators to handle incidents rather than have coaches directly engage spectators. "That coach should not have stopped the ball game and turn around and talk to that person," McMorris said during debate.
Other board members and attendees pushed back on overly specific rules. Several said existing policy — which requires employees to "display respect" and "maintain self discipline" — already covers unacceptable conduct and that job descriptions are reviewed annually through the district PEP committee. One board member warned overly detailed restrictions could prohibit normal, benign coaching interactions. "As a coach, I'm not going to sign something that says before a game I can't talk to another coach or athlete," one speaker said during discussion.
A motion to empower the superintendent to draft replacement language and present it at a future meeting was made but received no second and therefore did not pass. Board members nonetheless discussed alternatives: the superintendent noted job descriptions are reviewed through the PEP committee and said he would work with staff, athletic directors and principals to refine language and to reinforce conduct expectations with coaches during annual athletic‑director meetings.
No new policy was adopted at the meeting. Several board members said they want principals to have stronger grounds for discipline and to discuss coaching protocol in pre‑season meetings, but the board did not vote to change job descriptions or to adopt the specific language proposed during the session.
