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Utah Law: Extracurricular Activities |
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53A-11-102.6. Private school and home school
students' participation in
extracurricular activities in a public school.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Academic eligibility requirements" means the academic
eligibility requirements that
a home school student is required to meet to participate in an
extracurricular activity in a public
school.
(b) "Principal" means the principal of the school in which a home
school student
participates or intends to participate in an extracurricular activity.
(2) (a) A minor who is enrolled in a private school or a home
school shall be eligible to
participate in an extracurricular activity at a public school as
provided in this section.
(b) A private school student may only participate in an
extracurricular activity at a public
school that is not offered by the student's private school.
(c) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(d), a private school
student or a home school
student may only participate in an extracurricular activity at:
(i) the school within whose attendance boundaries the student's
custodial parent or legal
guardian resides; or
(ii) the school from which the student withdrew for the purpose
of attending a private or
home school.
(d) A school other than a school described in Subsection
(2)(c)(i) or (ii) may allow a
private school student or a home school student to participate in an
extracurricular activity other
than:
(i) an interscholastic competition of athletic teams sponsored
and supported by a public
school; or
(ii) an interscholastic contest or competition for music, drama,
or forensic groups or
teams sponsored and supported by a public school.
(3) (a) Except as provided in Subsections (4) through (13), a
private school or home
school student shall be eligible to participate in an extracurricular
activity at a public school
consistent with eligibility standards:
(i) applied to a fully enrolled public school student;
(ii) of the public school where the private school or home school
student participates in
an extracurricular activity; and
(iii) for the extracurricular activity in which the private
school or home school student
participates.
(b) A school district or public school may not impose additional
requirements on a
private school or home school student to participate in an
extracurricular activity that are not
imposed on a fully enrolled public school student.
(c) (i) A private school or home school student who participates
in an extracurricular
activity at a public school shall pay the same fees as required of a
fully enrolled public school
student to participate in an extracurricular activity.
(ii) If a local school board or charter school governing board
imposes a mandatory
student activity fee for a student enrolled in a public school, the fee
may be imposed on a private
school or home school student who participates in an extracurricular
activity at the public school
if the same benefits of paying the mandatory student activity fee that
are available to a fully
enrolled public school student are available to a private school or home
school student who
participates in an extracurricular activity at the public school.
(4) Eligibility requirements based on school attendance are not
applicable to a home
school student.
(5) A home school student meets academic eligibility requirements
to participate in an
extracurricular activity if:
(a) the student is mastering the material in each course or
subject being taught; and
(b) the student is maintaining satisfactory progress towards
achievement or promotion.
(6) (a) To establish a home school student's academic
eligibility, a parent, teacher, or
organization providing instruction to the student shall submit an
affidavit to the principal
indicating the student meets academic eligibility requirements.
(b) Upon submission of an affidavit pursuant to Subsection
(6)(a), a home school student
shall:
(i) be considered to meet academic eligibility requirements; and
(ii) retain academic eligibility for all extracurricular
activities during the activity season
for which the affidavit is submitted, until:
(A) a panel established under Subsection (10) determines the home
school student does
not meet academic eligibility requirements; or
(B) the person who submitted the affidavit under Subsection
(6)(a) provides written
notice to the school principal that the student no longer meets academic
eligibility requirements.
(7) (a) A home school student who loses academic eligibility
pursuant to Subsection
(6)(b)(ii)(B) may not participate in an extracurricular activity until
the person who submitted the
affidavit under Subsection (6)(a) provides written notice to the school
principal that the home
school student has reestablished academic eligibility.
(b) If a home school student reestablishes academic eligibility
pursuant to Subsection
(7)(a), the home school student may participate in extracurricular
activities for the remainder of
the activity season for which an affidavit was submitted under
Subsection (6)(a).
(8) A person who has probable cause to believe a home school
student does not meet
academic eligibility requirements may submit an affidavit to the
principal:
(a) asserting the home student does not meet academic eligibility
requirements; and
(b) providing information indicating that the home school student
does not meet the
academic eligibility requirements.
(9) A principal shall review the affidavit submitted under
Subsection (8), and if the
principal determines it contains information which constitutes probable
cause to believe a home
school student may not meet academic eligibility requirements, the
principal shall request a panel
established pursuant to Subsection (10) to verify the student's
compliance with academic
eligibility requirements.
(10) (a) A school district superintendent shall:
(i) appoint a panel of three individuals to verify a home school
student's compliance with
academic eligibility requirements when requested by a principal pursuant
to Subsection (9); and
(ii) select the panel members from nominees submitted by
national, state, or regional
organizations whose members are home school students and parents.
(b) Of the members appointed to a panel under Subsection (10)(a):
(i) one member shall have experience teaching in a public school
as a licensed teacher
and in home schooling high school-age students;
(ii) one member shall have experience teaching in a higher
education institution and in
home schooling; and
(iii) one member shall have experience in home schooling high
school-age students.
(11) A panel appointed under Subsection (10):
(a) shall review the affidavit submitted under Subsection (8);
(b) may confer with the person who submitted the affidavit under
Subsection (8);
(c) shall request the home school student to submit test scores
or a portfolio of work
documenting the student's academic achievement to the panel;
(d) shall review the test scores or portfolio of work; and
(e) shall determine whether the home school student meets
academic eligibility
requirements.
(12) A home school student who meets academic eligibility
requirements pursuant to
Subsection (11), retains academic eligibility for all extracurricular
activities during the activity
season for which an affidavit is submitted pursuant to Subsection (6).
(13) (a) A panel's determination that a home school student does
not comply with
academic eligibility requirements is effective for an activity season
and all extracurricular
activities that have academic eligibility requirements.
(b) A home school student who is not in compliance with academic
eligibility
requirements as determined by a panel appointed under Subsection (11)
may seek to establish
academic eligibility under this section for the next activity season.
(14) (a) A public school student who has been declared to be
academically ineligible to
participate in an extracurricular activity and who subsequently enrolls
in a home school shall lose
eligibility for participation in the extracurricular activity until the
student:
(i) demonstrates academic eligibility by providing test results
or a portfolio of the
student's work to the school principal, provided that a student may not
reestablish academic
eligibility under this Subsection (14)(a) during the same activity
season in which the student was
declared to be academically ineligible;
(ii) returns to public school and reestablishes academic
eligibility; or
(iii) enrolls in a private school and establishes academic
eligibility.
(b) A public school student who has been declared to be
behaviorally ineligible to
participate in an extracurricular activity and who subsequently enrolls
in a home school shall lose
eligibility for participation in the extracurricular activity until the
student meets eligibility
standards as provided in Subsection (3).
(15) When selection to participate in an extracurricular activity
at a public school is made
on a competitive basis, a private school student and a home school
student shall be eligible to try
out for and participate in the activity as provided in this section.
(16) (a) If a student exits a public school to enroll in a
private or home school
mid-semester or during an activity season, and the student desires to
participate in an
extracurricular activity at the public school, the public school shall
issue an interim academic
assessment based on the student's work in each class.
(b) A student's academic eligibility to participate in an
extracurricular activity under the
circumstances described in Subsection (16)(a) shall be based on the
student meeting public
school academic eligibility standards at the time of exiting public
school.
(c) A student may appeal an academic eligibility determination
made under Subsection
(16)(b) in accordance with procedures for appealing a public school
student's academic
eligibility.
Enacted by Chapter 210, 2010 General Session
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