Definitions:

“Academic Courses” are those courses for which class time is scheduled, which can be credited to meet the minimum requirements for graduation, which is taught by a teacher required to have State licensure in the course or is otherwise qualified under Arkansas statute, and has a course content guide which has been approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Any of the courses for which concurrent high school credit is earned may be from an institution of higher education recognized by DESE. If a student passes an academic course offered on a block schedule, the course can be counted twice toward meeting the requirement for students to pass four (4) academic courses per semester as required by this policy.

“Extracurricular activities” are defined as: any school-sponsored program where students from one or more schools meet, work, perform, practice under supervision outside of regular class time, or are competing for the purpose of receiving an award, rating, recognition, or criticism, or qualification for additional competition. Examples include but are not limited to, inter/intra-scholastic athletics, cheerleading, band, choral, math, or science competitions, field trips, and club activities.

“Field Trips” are when individual students or groups of students are invited to programs or events when there is no competition and the students are not interacting with each other for the purpose of planning, qualifying, or arranging for future programs or for the purpose of receiving recognition.

“Interscholastic Activities” means athletic or non-athletic/academic activities where students compete on a school vs. school basis.

“Intrascholastic Activities” means athletic or non-athletic/academic activities where students compete with students from within the same school.

“Supplemental Improvement Program (SIP)” is an additional instructional opportunity for identified students outside of their regular classroom and meets the criteria outlined in the current Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) Handbook.

Extracurricular Eligibility

The Board believes in providing opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities that can help enrich the student’s educational experience. At the same time, the Board believes that a student’s participation in extracurricular activities cannot come at the expense of his/her classroom academic achievement. Interruptions of instructional time in the classroom are to be minimal and absences from class to participate in extracurricular activities shall not exceed one per week per extracurricular activity (tournaments excepted). Additionally, a student’s participation in, and the District’s operation of, extracurricular activities shall be subject to the following policy. All students are eligible for extracurricular activities unless specifically denied eligibility on the basis of criteria outlined in this policy.

Any student who refuses to sit for a State-wide assessment or attempts to boycott a State-wide assessment by failing to put forth a good faith effort on the assessment as determined by the assessment administrator/proctor, or whose parents do not send their student to school on the dates the assessments are administered or scheduled as make-up days shall not be permitted to participate in any non-curriculum related extracurricular activity. The student shall remain ineligible to participate until the student takes the same or a following State-wide assessment, as applicable. The superintendent or designee may wave this paragraph's provisions when the student’s failure was due to exceptional or extraordinary circumstances. Students falling under the provisions of this paragraph shall be permitted to attend curriculum-related field trips occurring during the school day.

A student who enrolls in the district and meets the definition of “eligible child” in Policy 4.2—ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS shall be eligible to try out for an extracurricular activity regardless of the date the student enrolls in the District so long as the student meets all other eligibility requirements and the extracurricular activity is still ongoing.

A student and the parent or legal guardian of the student shall sign and return an acknowledgment of receipt and review of an information sheet regarding signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest before the student may participate in an athletic activity and before each school year, the student participates in an athletic activity.

No student shall be required to pay for individual or group instruction in order to participate in an extracurricular activity.

Interscholastic Activities

Each school in the District shall post on its website its schedule of interscholastic activities, including sign-up, tryout, and participation deadlines, at least one semester in advance of those activities. A hard copy of the schedule shall be available upon request.

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS

No student will be allowed to participate in any AAA-sanctioned events, including practice for such an event, on a day when the student had an unexcused absence for any part of the day.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS: Junior High

A student promoted from the sixth to the seventh grade automatically meets scholarship requirements. A student promoted from the seventh to the eighth grade automatically meets scholarship requirements for the first semester. The second-semester eighth-grade student meets the scholarship requirements for junior high if he/she has successfully passed four (4) academic courses the previous semester.

The first-semester ninth-grade student meets the scholarship requirements for junior high if he/she has successfully passed four (4) academic courses the previous semester.

The second-semester ninth-grade student meets the scholarship requirements for junior high if he/she has successfully passed (4) academic courses the previous semester which count toward his/her high school graduation requirements.

Ninth-grade students must meet the requirements of the senior high scholarship rule by the end of the second semester in the ninth grade in order to be eligible to participate the fall semester of their tenth-grade year.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS: Senior High

In order to remain eligible for competitive interscholastic activity, a student must have passed (4) academic courses the previous semester and either:

1) Have earned a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 from all academic courses the previous semester; or 2) If the student has passed four (4) academic courses the previous semester but does not have a 2.0 GPA the student must be enrolled and successfully participating in an SIP to maintain their competitive interscholastic extracurricular eligibility.

STUDENTS WITH AN INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

In order to be considered eligible to participate in competitive interscholastic activities, students with disabilities must pass at least four (4) courses per semester as required by their individual education program (IEP).

HOMELESS STUDENTS

Students who are determined to be experiencing homelessness by the school’s homeless LEA shall be eligible for participation in interscholastic activities.

ARKANSAS ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION

In addition to the foregoing rules, the district shall abide by the rules and regulations of AAA governing interscholastic activities. AAA provides catastrophic insurance coverage for students participating in AAA-governed extracurricular activities who are enrolled in school. As a matter of District policy,  no student may participate in a AAA-governed extracurricular activity unless he or she is enrolled in a district school, to ensure all students are eligible for AAA catastrophic insurance.

Intrascholastic Activities

AAA Governed Activities

Students participating in intrascholastic extracurricular activities that would be governed by AAA if they were to occur between students of different schools shall meet all interscholastic activity eligibility requirements to be eligible to participate in the comparable intrascholastic activity. The District will abide by the AAA Handbook for such activities to ensure District students are not disqualified from participating in interscholastic activities.

Non-AAA Governed Activities

Unless made ineligible by District policies, all students shall be eligible to participate in non-AAA-governed intrascholastic extracurricular activities. Intrascholastic activities designed for a particular grade(s) or course(s) shall require the student to be enrolled in the grade(s) or course(s).

School Choice Transfers

A student who transfers under a legal school choice option shall not be denied participation in an extracurricular activity where the student transfers based exclusively on the student’s decision to transfer. A student who transfers after July 1 of the year the student enters grade seven (7) shall complete a Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form as defined by AAA, which must be signed by the:

• Superintendent of the student's resident school district;
• Superintendent of the nonresident school district to which the student transfers; and
• Parent, legal guardian, a person having lawful control of the student, or a person standing in loco parentis to the student.

The completed Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form shall be filed with the non-resident school district where the student transfers and the AAA. The Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form shall be signed by the superintendent of a student's resident school district and the superintendent of the nonresident school district to which a student transfers unless there is demonstrable evidence of recruiting by the receiving school district personnel or that the student is transferring to the nonresident school district solely for athletic purposes.