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Parents press district on athletic incidents and DASA reporting; board outlines training, committees and monitoring
Summary
Residents asked the Sewanhaka board whether the district is monitoring a federal investigation into Bellmore-Merrick and how it records and responds to incidents at athletic competitions.
Parents and residents raised concerns at the May 27 Sewanhaka Central High School District board meeting about incidents during interscholastic competitions and how the district monitors and reports them.
Mikaela Jasmine Beeman, an Elmont resident, asked whether the district was monitoring a federal complaint against the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and whether district leaders were coordinating with Bellmore-Merrick while the U.S. Department of Education investigates allegations of antisemitism and anti-Black incidents.
"So my first question is, are we monitoring it?" Beeman asked.
The superintendent replied that the district had been recently made aware of the complaint, that she speaks regularly with Bellmore-Merrick Superintendent Mike Harrington and that she has been provided "very little information about the status of the investigation." She said the district will monitor the outcome and that the two districts meet twice a month to coordinate schedules and to try to ensure competitions occur in a safe environment.
Board and central-office speakers described multiple ways the district captures reports of incidents. They said a formal DASA complaint (Dignity for All Students Act) is one mechanism; coaches also routinely report concerns to athletic directors, principals and central office staff. The superintendent said informal, on-the-ground conversations with student-athletes and postgame check-ins are part of the district’s approach to "take the temperature" of how competitions felt for students.
The superintendent told the audience the district has begun training and prevention work: partnerships with organizations including Erase Racism and Power of Words, a June 23 training for staff and committees, coaches clinics covering implicit bias, workshops for student-athletes and proposed student leadership academies. She said the district will implement five committees—one in each building—starting July 1; those committees will report to building principals and provide standing reports to PTAs about athletics and competition climate.
When asked whether the district would refuse to compete with Bellmore-Merrick if the other district failed to act, the superintendent said she has received collaborative responses from Bellmore-Merrick leaders and described joint student workshops and conferences the districts have run together. She said local authorities and officials are being asked to step up training but that the district will give coaches "complete permission to end the contest" if a game becomes unsafe or discriminatory.
Board members and speakers also discussed how officials’ feedback and referee reports are handled. Coaches submit feedback to Section VIII officials; referee reports of ejections or unsportsmanlike conduct are transmitted back to districts when discipline is required, the superintendent said. The district said it will inquire further about what summary data the district can request from Section VIII on officials’ feedback.
