Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 14, 2012 FLOW Area Court sets hearing on school conduct regulation by Frank J. McMahon The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey will hold a March 21 hearing regarding the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education’s Regulation 6145, which concerns students’ conduct away from school grounds. The case concerns the school district’s appeal of Administrative Law Judge Richard McGill’s 2010 ruling that the regulation is unlawful. The regulation would allow the district to withhold extracurricular activities from a student who is formally charged and/or arrested by law enforcement for an alleged violation of the state’s code of criminal justice or applicable municipal ordinances, on or away from school grounds. Judge McGill found that the regulation was outside, and in excess of, the powers of the school board that are authorized by law, and was therefore unlawful, unconstitutional, and in violation of parental rights. When the school board adopted the regulation in June 2009, students were required to refrain from the use, possession, or distribution of any alcoholic beverage or other drugs, unless prescribed by a physician, both on and off school grounds, during the season or activity in which the student wished to participate in the extracurricular activity. A violation would occur if a student were formally charged and/or arrested by law enforcement for an alleged violation of the state’s code of criminal justice and/or applicable municipal codes or ordinance provisions. Such a violation would result in a conference with the student, his or her parents or guardians, and the school administration, after which it would be determined if a violation had occurred. If a violation occurred, the student would be prohibited from participating in extracurricular activities for seven school days or through the next scheduled competitive event. A second violation would result in a 90-day prohibition, and a third violation would result in a 180-day prohibition. Terry and Gregory Meese, the parents of a Ramapo Indian Hills student at the time the regulation was adopted, challenged the measure, and the board filed exceptions to Judge McGill’s determination. However, McGill’s determination was affirmed by Rochelle R. Hendricks, then the acting commissioner of education, who found that the regulation gave the board authority that is beyond the scope of the state’s governing regulatory provisions. As a result, enforcement would be unlawful. Hendricks determined that a school board may deny participation in extracurricular activities as disciplinary sanctions when they are designed to maintain the order and integrity of the school environment. She did not address the constitutional arguments described by McGill in his recommendation, but found that the school board’s regulation was unlawful and directed the board to revise its regulation to bring it into compliance with the requirements of the state’s administrative code. In October 2010, the board revised its regulation. Additional language provided that there would be no consequence imposed upon a student for conduct occurring away from school grounds unless it was determined that the consequences were reasonably necessary for the student’s safety or the safety of other students, staff, or school grounds, or interfered with the appropriate discipline in the operation of the school. The Meeses challenged the revised regulation. In July 2011, Administrative Law Judge Caridad F. Rigo agreed with the residents and granted a motion for a summary decision. Judge Rigo ordered that the school board refrain from enforcing or applying the revised regulation while the decision was sent to Chris Cerf, the acting commissioner of education at that time. The school board strongly disagreed with that determination, and again filed exceptions to the ruling to the acting commissioner, who subsequently determined that the revised regulation did, in fact, comply with state law. Cerf rejected Rigo’s decision and dismissed the Meeses’ petition. The residents did not appeal the acting commissioner’s ruling on the revised regulation. The court will now rule on the district’s appeal of the first determination by Judge McGill that the original regulation was unlawful. The Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education recently honored 13 district students who were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program for their outstanding academic promise. Twelve of the students, nine from Indian Hills High School and three from Ramapo High School, were recognized as commended students and one Ramapo student qualified as a semifinalist. The Indian Hills commended students are Heejae An, Alexandra Churikova, Kaitlyn Gaffney, Alexandra Glembocki, Joshua Golubovsky, Christopher Ianzano, James Lee, Chloe Margherita, and Edmond Xu. The Ramapo semifinalist is James Yu, and the commended students from that school are Thomas Halloran, Angie Kang, and Alison O’Connor. The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screen of more than 1.5 million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements. Of the 1.5 million entrants, 50,000 with the highest Preliminary SAT selection index scores qualify for recognition. In April, following the fall test, high-scoring participants are invited to name two colleges or universities to which they would like to be referred by the National Merit Scholarship Program. The following September, these high scorers are notified through their schools that they have qualified as either a commended student or semifinalist. More than two-thirds of the high scorers receive let- Thirteen students earn recognition ters of commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. Commended students are named on the basis of a nationally applied selection index score that may vary from year to year and is below the level required for participants to be named semifinalists in their respective states. Although commended students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses. About 16,000 students are notified that they have qualified as semifinalists. To ensure that academically talented young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool, semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis. Semifinalists receive scholarship application materials from the National Merit Scholarship Program through their high schools. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists must advance to the finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and other requirements. All winners of Merit Scholarships are chosen from the finalist group, based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. The National Merit Scholarship Committee evaluates a variety of information about each finalist, such as academic record, information about the school’s curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, the high school official’s written recommendation, information about the student’s activities and leadership, and the finalist’s essay. F.J. McMAHON