School Sports Teams: Immediate Dismissal for Concealing Violence or Sexual Violence

The "one-strike-out" policy, which mandates the immediate dismissal of coaches, managers, or other leaders of school sports teams if they are caught fabricating or covering up incidents of violence or sexual violence, will be implemented.

According to the education sector on April 27, the Ministry of Education has recently established new "disciplinary standards" that significantly strengthen the penalties for school sports team leaders involved in violence or sexual violence. These standards have been in effect at elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide since March 2026.

The disciplinary standards for school sports team leaders were first introduced in August 2021 and have been revised for the first time in four years ahead of the first semester of this year. The latest revision newly includes the "one-strike-out" policy, which stipulates that if a leader of a school sports team is found to have fabricated or concealed incidents of violence or sexual violence, they will be immediately dismissed. Previously, it had been a problem that coaches and managers at elementary, middle, and high schools often concealed such cases, being conscious of external criticism and thus failing to report them properly.

Under the revised standards, the minimum level of disciplinary action for leaders who commit acts of violence or sexual violence against student athletes has been raised from a warning to a pay cut. If a leader inflicts physical violence on a student athlete, disciplinary action will range from suspension to dismissal. In cases of sexual harassment, while previously only suspension was imposed for cases of gross negligence, the revised standards now allow for dismissal as well. If a leader is found to have abetted or condoned violence, at least a pay cut is recommended; if they have abetted or condoned sexual violence, at least suspension is recommended. If a leader commits sexual assault against a student athlete, immediate dismissal remains the guideline.

Most school sports team leaders are contracted by the school principal, and typically the school management committee determines disciplinary action for leaders involved in violence or sexual violence. Although the disciplinary standards do not have legal binding force, the Ministry of Education expects that they will help foster a stronger atmosphere of strict punishment for perpetrators of violence and sexual violence within school sports teams.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.