Policy 5.60

Eligibility for Participation in K-12 Extracurricular Activities

1. Purpose.-- Extracurricular activities are intended to supplement the regular curriculum of the school and to provide enrichment opportunities for students. As important as extracurricular activities are for growth and development of each student, they must remain supplemental to the student's learning and mastery of the basic skills in the regular curriculum.

2. Equitable Participation

1. Principals shall select faculty advisors, directors, coaches, sponsors, and staff who are diverse in racial, ethnic, and gender composition.

2. Students shall not be excluded from nor denied positions of leadership in any extracurricular activity due to race, national origin, disabilities, sex, marital status, or limited English proficiency, as required by the Florida Education Equity Act.

3. In general, students shall not be denied participation in any activity because of inability to pay for expenses related to the activity; however, students may be required to pay for athletic insurance as a prerequisite to participation in extracurricular activities, and donors such as booster clubs may be encouraged to assist with insurance expenses for students who have difficulty covering the cost of such athletic insurance.

4. Pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 1006.28(3)(b) and Policy 8.1225, a student will be suspended from participation in extracurricular activities while owing an obligation after reasonable collection efforts by the principal, for lost, destroyed, or unnecessarily-damaged instructional materials, unless the student elects to perform community service hours to satisfy the obligation pursuant to Policy 8.1225.

5. The Superintendent or designee shall monitor fair and equitable access to extracurricular activities for all students as follows:

1. Students in Grades K-5.-- Elementary school principals will annually complete a survey of extracurricular activities (instructional and non-instructional). This survey will be disaggregated by total number of participants, participants with Exceptional Student Education (ESE), Limited English Proficient (LEP) students, sex, and race (African-American, Hispanic, White and Other).

2. Students in Grades 6-8.-- The Superintendent shall establish procedures to ensure that the eligibility Bylaws of the Palm Beach County Middle School Activities Association ("PBCMSAA") are enforced. The middle school principals will annually complete a survey of ten extracurricular activities (instructional and non-instructional) designated by the Superintendent. This survey will be disaggregated by number of participants, participants with Exceptional Student Education (ESE), Limited English Proficient (LEP) students, sex, and race (African-American, Hispanic, White and Other).

3. Students in Grades 9-12.-- The eligibility Bylaws of the Florida High School Activities Association ("FHSAA") shall be enforced. The high school principals will annually complete a survey of ten (10) extracurricular activities (instructional and non-instructional) designated by the Superintendent. This survey will be disaggregated by number of participants, sex, and race (African-American, Hispanic, White and Other).

Each school's survey will be submitted by May 30 to the appropriate Area Superintendent, based on data from the Student Activity Screen (A-26).

6. By June 15 of each school year, Area Superintendents will submit the survey results to the Superintendent, along with a written action plan for removing any apparent barriers to diversity in staff and student participation in extracurricular activities. If the level of participation of any such category of students is substantially different from the enrollment proportion of that category, it should be supportable by a nondiscriminatory explanation.

7. By June 30 of each year, the Superintendent shall submit a report consistent with SBER 6A-19.004 to the Board regarding participation in extracurricular activities at the elementary, middle, and senior high school levels. This report shall be based on the Area Superintendent's reports and data and include:

1. District-wide and individual school information regarding data on faculty advisors, directors, coaches, and sponsors by race, national origin, sex, LEP, and ESE;

2. Data on participation in selected activities by race, national origin, sex, LEP, and ESE;

3. Identification of any barriers regarding equitable selection of diverse faculty advisors, directors, coaches, and sponsors;

4. Identification of any barriers to equitable participation in extracurricular activities by students of diverse populations;

5. Identification of any inequities in extracurricular activities offered at schools;

6. Recommendations for removing any barrier to equitable student participation in extracurricular activities;

7. Recommendations for removing any inequity regarding extracurricular activities offered at schools; and

8. Recommendations for ensuring diversity of faculty advisors, directors, coaches, and sponsors.

3. Scholastic Eligibility in Middle School.-- As stated in the Student Progression Plan and consistent with the Bylaws of the PBCMSAA, the scholastic eligibility requirements for middle-school students to participate in interscholastic extracurricular student activities are as follows:

1. Eligibility for each middle-school student shall be limited to three (3) consecutive years from the time the student first enters grade 6.

2. To be eligible to compete in interscholastic athletic competition for the first grading period, a sixth-grade student must be a bona fide student in the school which he/she represents (unless in home education or a charter-school student as explained in Section (7) below); must have been regularly promoted from the fifth grade; and must be carrying a normal class load and doing satisfactory classroom work with a satisfactory conduct record.

3. Any middle-school student who has been administratively placed will be ineligible for the first nine (9) weeks of the placement.

4. Failure in more than one (1) subject during a given nine-week grading period shall cause a student to be ineligible for practice and competition during the following nine-week grading period. In addition, a student must maintain a grade point average of 2.0 as well as acceptable conduct as determined by the principal.

5. A middle-school student will lose eligibility upon reaching the age of 15 years prior to September 1 of the current school year.

6. To participate in the first semester of grade 9, a student must have been promoted from grade 8 during the immediately-preceding school year.

4. Scholastic Eligibility in High School.-- As stated in Fla. Stat. § 1006.15(3)(a), the minimum requirements for scholastic eligibility for high school students to participate in interscholastic extracurricular student activities, are as follows:

1. Maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the previous semester or a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the courses required for high school graduation by Fla. Stat. § 1003.43(1).

2. Execute and fulfill the requirements of an academic performance contract between the student, the district school board, the appropriate governing association, and the student's parents, if the student's cumulative grade point average falls below 2.0, or its equivalent, on a 4.0 scale in the courses required by Fla. Stat. § 1003.43(1) or, for students who entered the 9th grade prior to the 1997-1998 school year, if the student's cumulative grade point average falls below 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the courses required by Fla. Stat. § 1003.43(1) that are taken after July 1, 1997. At a minimum, the contract must require that the student attend summer school, or its graded equivalent, between grades 9 and 10 or grades 10 and 11, as necessary.

3. Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the courses required by Fla. Stat. § 1003.43(1) during the junior or senior year.

4. A student who is eligible at the beginning of a semester shall be eligible during the remainder of the semester, except for lack of attendance, improper conduct or other valid reasons which may cause the principal to declare the student ineligible before the end of the semester.

5. The student must maintain satisfactory conduct, as determined by the principal. (In any event, if the student is convicted of, or is found to have committed, a felony or a delinquent act which would have been a felony if committed by an adult, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld, the student should be disqualified from participation in interscholastic extracurricular activities.)

5. General Eligibility Requirements

1. Middle school principals are responsible for ensuring that each middle school participant in interscholastic activities abides by the PBCMSAA Bylaws and/or the Florida School Music Association ("FSMA") Bylaws. Eligibility is established at the first school attended as assigned by Student Services.

2. High school principals are responsible for ensuring that each high school participant in interscholastic activities, as a representative of his/her school, is eligible to participate under the FHSAA rules. Eligibility is established at the first school attended as assigned by Student Services. The principal also has the responsibility of reporting any discovered eligibility irregularities to the FHSAA, the Area Superintendent, and the Superintendent/designee.

3. In addition to the FHSAA or PBCMSAA Bylaws, the following rules shall apply:

1. No student may participate in the interscholastic activities of a school other than the school to which the student was first assigned for a given school year unless the student:

1. actually and legitimately resides in the attendance area of the school; or

2. has a transfer approved by Student Services; or

3. has been admitted to a magnet/choice school or program pursuant to the magnet/choice application process (provided that the student shall become ineligible for sports at the magnet/choice school if he/she drops out of, or is removed from, the magnet/choice program); or

4. transferred to the new school under the Opportunity Scholarships Program or the McKay Scholarships for Children with Disabilities Program under Fla. Stat. §§ 1002.38 or 1002.39; or

5. was administratively placed.

2. Principals shall annually review reassignments.

3. Any student who is found to have falsified eligibility information shall be deemedineligible to compete in any public school within the School District of Palm Beach County for one calendar year from the date the falsification is discovered.

4. The Superintendent, Area Superintendent, principal, coach, or activity sponsor may raise questions of eligibility at any time. Any question of eligibility shall be presented to the principal of the school where the student's eligibility is being questioned.

4. An Interscholastic Eligibility Appeals Committee (IEAC) shall be established to review eligibility questions which cannot otherwise be resolved. Neither this Policy nor any recommendation from the committee shall be construed as waiving applicable FHSAA or PBCMSAA Bylaws or regulations.

6. Clubs and Non-Sports Activities. The minimum scholastic standards for eligibility for competitive interscholastic participation in extracurricular competitive interscholastic non-sports activities and clubs will be the same GPA required for sports participation by Fla. Stat. 1006.15(3)(a), the FHSAA, and the PBCMSAA.

7. Home Education and Charter School Students.-- Home educated students are governed by the same eligibility regulations as all public school students. "An individual home education student is eligible to participate at the same public school to which the student would be assigned according to district school board attendance area policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to district or interdistrict controlled open enrollment provisions, . . . in the interscholastic extracurricular activities of that school," subject to the conditions in Fla. Stat. § 1006.15(3)(c). "An individual charter school student . . . is eligible to participate at the public school to which the student be assigned according to district school board attendance area policies or which the student could choose to attend, pursuant to district or interdistrict controlled open-enrollment provisions, in any interscholastic extracurricular activity of that school, unless such activity is provided by the student's charter school," subject to the conditions set forth in Fla. Stat. § 1006.15(3)(d).

8. Recruiting Prohibited.-- School District employees are prohibited from recruiting students from other schools for any athletic activity, either directly or indirectly, and may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination for violation of this policy. Any principal who knowingly allows or encourages recruitment from other schools will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Any employee who knowingly and willfully withholds information regarding eligibility when questioned by his/her superiors will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.