Special Report: Out of Bounds

(WALA) - We all know about punishment for breaking the rules in school, and the punishment for breaking the law.

However, what happens to students arrested for breaking the law outside of school? Are they allowed back? And if they are, can they take part in extra-curricular activities?

The arrest of a standout high school football player in the Mobile area earlier in 2012 helped put the spotlight on the issue.

Deon Johnson had a bright future: a star wide receiver for the Spanish Fort Toros and a verbal commit to the University of Alabama.

Now, that future is in jeopardy.

In September 2012, Daphne Police arrested Johnson for second degree rape and sodomy after receiving a complaint from the parents of a juvenile.

One day after his arrest, FOX10 News reported Johnson had bonded out of jail and was back at school wearing his football jersey. He wasn't, however, allowed to play the football game that Friday night.

Then, more trouble: less than three weeks later, Johnson was arrested again by Daphne Police. This time, it was more serious.

"It's a totally different victim, totally different place where it occurred," said Lieutenant Jud Beedy with the Daphne Police Department.

Johnson was charged with first degree rape.

"The evidence that we've got, we believe that we have enough probable cause that he actually forced this girl to have sex with him," Lt. Beedy said.

That time, a judge ordered Johnson placed under house arrest. He was only allowed to go to school between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., and could not play football or participate in any other extra curricular activities.

So we wanted to know - What are the rules in school systems for students arrested for felonies or other serious crimes?

Turns out the rules and punishment aren't necessarily cut and dry.

"We look at each individual case, and we try to analyze whether a student who would be coming back after a felony is in fact a danger to other children," Baldwin County School Superintendent Dr. Alan Lee said.

Baldwin school officials said they won't talk about Johnson's case because it's an active police investigation.

But Dr. Lee did explain their policy in general.

"If we suspect that there might be a danger to other children, then we would find a way to have that student study at home," Dr. Lee said.

Dr. Lee said that determination is made by the principal, along with him.

So, what happens if the student is allowed to remain in school? Can he or she take part in extra-curricular activities?

"We look at those in each individual case and try to make a good decision in regard to the children in the school, and that particular student," Dr. Lee said.

The Mobile County Public School System has similar policies.
 
Terrence Mixon, the executive director of the Division of Student Support Services for the MCPSS said it's up to the discretion of the principal.

"If he or she feels that this student, being in his or her school, is going to create an unsafe environment, I can, by the principals recommendation, find an alternative setting for that student,"  Mixon said.

As for extra curricular activities, Mixon said it is again up to the discretion of the principal.

"Now, I will say this. If we find that it's necessary for the student to be placed in an alternative setting, they cannot participate in that extra-curricular activity, because they are no longer enrolled in that school," he added.

In Escambia County, Florida, the principal gets to decide if the student stays in school. However, the rules about extra curricular activities during an ongoing investigation are hard and fast.

"If it hasn't been determined yet, then that particular person will remain absent from whatever extra-curricular activity that might be," said Norm Ross, deputy superintendent of the Escambia County, Florida, School District.

As for Deon Johnson, he remains under house arrest while a grand jury investigates the case.