Hutchinson: No 'Zero Tolerance' Policy, Sports Participation a 'Privilege'

After a long silence from school administration over the past several days about the controversial punishment of a high school student who picked up a friend from a party, North Andover Superintendent Kevin Hutchinson has spoken on the matter, albeit vaguely.

"Although we have been asked by several media outlets to respond to the allegations made against North Andover High School, our practice is to not comment on matters involving student discipline," Hutchinson said in a statement Tuesday. "This approach is consistent with state and federal laws that prohibit the disclosure of confidential student record information."

Erin Cox, 17, went to a party in Boxford to pick up her friend, and the police reportedly arrived and arrested underage drinkers. Cox was summonsed for being at the party, but Boxford Police have confirmed that she was not drinking.

Cox was stripped of her title as captain of the North Andover High School Girls Volleyball team. She was suspended for five games as well.

The matter has been decried a situation of "zero tolerance" gone overboard. But Hutchinson says there is no such policy:

"We do not have a 'zero tolerance policy.' Each incident is fully investigated and decided upon based on the individual facts and circumstances. Our administrators are tasked with applying the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) rules pertaining to student-athletes and alcohol in a consistent and fair manner," Hutchinson wrote. "To be clear, the MIAA’s, and by extension North Andover High School’s, 'chemical health rule' prohibits student-athletes from possessing alcohol, in addition to prohibiting its use, consumption, or distribution."

Cox has reportedly been cleared of any wrongdoing regarding alcohol use or distribution at the party in question. And Hutchinson -- who said disciplinary decisions like these are made by the principal following MIAA guidelines -- did not offer any clarification as to why North Andover High School Principal Carla Scuzzarella decided the particular punishment was appropriate.

"To be clear, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that participation in interscholastic athletics is a privilege. Rather than simply revoking the privilege, our Administration has consistently afforded its student-athletes a reasonable opportunity to be heard before a disciplinary decision is made."

Her family attempted to file suit to block the suspension, but that attempt was knocked down by the courts because the courts do not have jurisdiction over these kind of school sports matters.