EXTRACURRICULAR
ACTIVITIES
The Board of Education considers extracurricular activities
to be a valuable part of the program of the school and shall support these
activities within the financial means of the District.
Limited Open Forum
The Board of Education maintains a limited open forum where
secondary students may meet for voluntary student-initiated activities unrelated
directly to the instructional program, regardless of religious, political or
philosophical content.
To provide "a fair opportunity" to students who wish to
conduct a meeting, the Board of
Education, in accordance with the provisions of the Equal Access Act, shall
ensure that:
a) The meeting is voluntary and student-initiated;
b) There is no sponsorship of the meeting by the school,
the government, or its agents or employees;
c) Employees or agents of the school or government are
present at religious meetings only in a non-participatory capacity;
d) The meeting does not materially and substantially
interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities within the school;
and
e) Non-school persons may not direct, conduct, control, or
regularly attend activities of student groups (20 USC Section 4071[c]).
The Board prohibits student organizations whose activities
may be unlawful or may cause disruption or interference with the orderly conduct
of the educational process.
Administration is responsible for establishing regulations
governing the use of school facilities by student organizations.
Eligibility for Attendance
a) Students who are suspended from school on a day of an
athletic game or practice session, party, school dance, or other school affair
scheduled after regular school hours are not eligible for participation or
attendance at such events.
b) In order for students to attend a school-sponsored
function, it is necessary that students attend classes for at least one half
(1/2) of the school day on the day of the activity, unless otherwise excused by
the building administrator. One-half (1/2) of the school day is defined as
follows:
from 7:40 a.m. until 11:15 a.m. or from 11:15 a.m. until
the end of the school day.
School property shall mean in or within any building,
structure, athletic playing field, playground, parking lot or land contained
within the real property boundary line of a public elementary or secondary
school; or in or on a school bus as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law Section
142. A school function shall mean a school-sponsored or school-authorized
extracurricular event or activity regardless of where such event or
activity takes place, including any event or activity that may take place in
another state.
Academic Eligibility
The Board of Education recognizes that academic performance
is considered the most important aspect of our students' experience. This policy
is designed to ensure that all students
SUBJECT: EXTRACURRICULAR
ACTIVITIES (CONT’D)
have
ample opportunity to achieve academic success while balancing involvement in
extracurricular activities.
While this policy establishes minimal acceptable
performance levels, parents are encouraged to establish higher levels of
achievement for their son or daughter, as they deem appropriate.
This academic eligibility policy applies to all South
Seneca Central School District students in grades 9 through 12. It applies to
all academic programs offered to South Seneca students including and not limited
to all BOCES programs.
The Building Principal shall be the Superintendent's
designee and is responsible for developing procedures to administer this policy.
The Superintendent remains the final authority involving appeals as a result of
the implementation of this policy.
For
the purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply:
Extracurricular, Interscholastic and Co-curricular Activities—School-sponsored
activities in addition to coursework. Examples include but are not limited to
the following:
Athletics
All County Music Festivals
Student Council
Musicals
Intramurals Dances (including the Prom)
Clubs
Colour Guard Exceptional
Senior Contests
Weight Room
Plays
Senior Privileges
Field Trips (that are not academic in nature)
Swing Choir
Marching Band
Homecoming (all week’s activities)
Cheerleading
Ten-Week Marking Period—One of the four quarters of the academic year the
conclusion of which is marked by a report card detailing the student’s
previous ten weeks of academic progress.
After-School Help Sessions—A program of after school instruction developed
in collaboration
between the course instructor and the after-school help session instructor. This
instruction is
designed to assist the student in achieving a passing grade in the course if the
student applies adequate effort.
Academic Warning—A period of probation resulting from a student’s receiving
a failing grade and/or incomplete in two or more courses of study at any
point during the academic year.
Academic Ineligibility—A student’s status upon demonstrating inadequate
participation in the after- School
Help sessions, rendering the student ineligible to participate in any
extracurricular activities.
Five Week Progress Report- A five-week progress report is sent home to
parents/guardians detailing student’s academic progress of the five week period
of time between each ten-week (quarter) making period.
SUBJECT: EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES (CONT’D)
For
a student in grades 9-12 to be eligible to participate in these activities, s/he
must:
• Be
enrolled in a minimum of six units of study, plus Physical Education, for the
marking period. The only exception
is when students are unable to schedule 6.0 units because of a lack of available
courses.
•
Demonstrate satisfactory progress in the instructional program as reported at
the end of each ten five-week marking period.
• Meet
the minimum requirement established in the attendance policy.
• Must
be “in good standing” in terms of behavior, as defined by procedures found in
the Student Handbook and the Athletic Handbook, both of which must be approved
by the Board of Education.
1.
Any student who has two or more failing grades and/or Incompletes at any
point during the academic school year is placed on the Academic Warning List
and is required to attend and successfully complete all prescribed After School
Help Sessions.
2.
In order for any student to be removed from the Academic Warning List, s/he must
receive, on the five-week marking period progress report no more than one
failing grade and/or Incomplete. This policy is continuous from the end of one
academic year into another. Summer school will count as an After School Help
Session for the purposes of potentially removing a student from the Academic
Warning List or the Ineligibility List, per the requirements of this policy.
3. A student will be
placed on the Academic Ineligibility List from the Warning List as soon as s/he
has accumulated two unexcused absences from the After School Help Sessions
and/or as soon as the student has been cited twice for not complying with
After-School Help Session rules.
4.
Any student on the Academic Warning List may participate in extracurricular
practices and activities only on the condition that s/he provides proof of
attendance and successful completion of daily After School Help Sessions. No
student will be excused from an After School Help Session in order to attend a
practice. Students who, with the prior consent of the After School Homework Help
supervisor, miss an After School Homework Help Session to participate in a
contest/activity must make up any time missed in a timely fashion. This
permission is discretionary.
5.
Any student on the Academic Ineligible List may not participate in any
extracurricular activity, including sports and other practices.
6.
The five-week marking period progress report is relevant to this policy ONLY in
determining whether a student is able to be removed from the Warning List or the
Ineligible List or to determine placement on the Warning List if the student has
not previously been so identified (See also #1 above.).
Equal Access Act, 20 United States Code (USC)
Sections 4071-4074
Education Law Sections 1709 and 1709-a, 2503-a
and 2554-a
Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 142
8 New York Code of Rules and Regulations (NYCRR)
Part 172
Adopted: 5/13/09
Revised: May 5, 2010