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Decision Number
165
Book
19
Month
December
Year
2000
In RE
Keith Degen
Appellant
Diane Degen
Appellee
Iowa High School Athletic Association
Full Text
Summary

Keith is a fifth-year senior attending Mason City High School. He participated in wrestling during his freshman year. During his sophomore year, Keith attended Mason City's alternative high school and was academically ineligible during the spring semester.

During the summer between his sophomore and junior years, Keith was arrested for possession of marijuana. Keith entered residential drug treatment in January 1999. He was discharged in February 1999. He went to the alternative high school for part of his junior year. He dropped out in April 1999. Keith continued with out patient counseling from March 1999 to July 1999. He also maintained a job.

He successfully completed a class at NIACC at his own expense and was allowed to return to the alternative high school in the spring of 2000. Keith has remained drug free for more than 2 years. Keith's documented chemical dependency and inpatient treatment constitutes "extenuating circumstances, such as health." However, the proceedings under his local district's good conduct policy precluded him from competing from July 1998 to July 1999. We conclude that a local district's suspension of an athlete unde rits good conduct policy overrides the "extenuating circumstances" exception where the two are in direct conflict for the same time period.

That the decision of the IHSAA's Board of Control was affirmed.