To the editor:, As a parent who has signed the Hillsborough High School athletic contract on several occasions, I never took the time to fully review the document as I should have. After having the unfortunate circumstance to do so, I’m urging the Hillsborough Board of Education to review the contract as I believe it does not comply with New Jersey law and violates the constitutional rights of student athletes., My initial concern with the Hillsborough High School athletic contract is that it authorizes the school district’s athletic director, HHS principal and superintendent to suspend or terminate a student athlete from their team for conduct that occurs outside the school, even if the conduct in question has no nexus to the school, and does not impact the orderly administration of the school., For example, if a student athlete is arrested on a Sunday morning for a minor disorderly persons’ offense that is later dismissed, the Hillsborough athletic contract provides the athletic director, principal and superintendent with the broad and arbitrary power to suspend or terminate the athlete from their team by Monday afternoon., Although participating in a school athletic activity is certainly a privilege, suspending or terminating a student athlete in this manner constitutes an unconstitutional infringement on a student athlete’s right to privacy and right against self-incrimination. The state Department of Education and New Jersey courts reached the same conclusion in a 2012 case with similar facts and circumstances to the example outlined above., I’m also concerned that the Hillsborough High School athletic contract infringes on a student athlete’s right to due process under the law as it provides for very little fact finding, decisions are made by a unilateral governing body with no input from a third party independent arbitrator, and a student athlete must remain suspended or terminated pending their appeal. In fact, once suspended by the athletic director at the athletic director’s discretion, a student athlete and their parents may only appeal the suspension or termination to the principal and superintendent, who are naturally predisposed to rule in the athletic director’s favor., Moreover, the Hillsborough High School athletic contract does not require the athletic director, principal, or superintendent to provide a written explanation that details the reason for the suspension or termination. Separate, but related, the Hillsborough High School athletic contract disregards a student athlete’s first amendment right to free speech by empowering the athletic director, principal, and superintendent to suspend or terminate a student athlete for expressing their views on a private social media account., For these reasons, I’m again urging the Hillsborough Board of Education and parents of student athletes to carefully and thoroughly review the Hillsborough High School athletic contract as I believe the document as currently written and enforced is not in accordance with the law., John G. Donnadio, Hillsborough
