Relates to requiring students to maintain a minimum grade point average as a condition to participation in certain school-sponsored clubs, teams or organizations

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring students to maintain a minimum grade point average as a condition to participation in certain school-sponsored clubs, teams or organizations

Purpose

This bill allows school districts to set minimum grade point average standards for students who participate in extracurricular activities, including school sports teams

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the education law relating to common school districts.

Section 2 amends the education law relating to union free school districts.

Section 3 amends the education law relating to city school districts of cities with less than one-hundred and twenty-five thousand inhabitants.

Section 4 amends the education law relating to city school districts of cities with one-hundred and twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more.

Section 5 amends the education law relating to powers and duties of the community district education council.

Section 6 amends the education law relating to charter schools.

Section 7 sets the effective date of the law.

Justification

Participation by students in extracurricular activities, including interscholastic sports, is integral to the overall educational experience by contributing to the primary goal of academic excellence. While some school districts have voluntarily created and adopted policies relating to extracurricular academic criteria, statewide there exist no minimum standards for participation to ensure that every student-athlete makes satisfactory progress toward graduation.

In order to address this problem in their own backyards, twelve states Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and West Virginia -- including the District of Columbia, have required policies outlining statewide minimum academic standards. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, to much fanfare, in 2011 boosted its minimum high school GPA and core-course eligibility standards for incoming student-athletes. New York City's Public School Athletic League followed suit one year later by creating harder academic rules for their own students.

Schools with strong athletic academic requirements have reported successful student adjustment to the new, higher standards and over the long-term, have benefited greatly with increased GPAs. As public education policies face harsher scrutiny, athletic programs with low academic standards not only do a disservice to the school district, but they create greater harm to the student by sending the wrong message that learning comes last. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amendments pertaining to the section of powers and duties of the community district education council shall survive the expiration and reversion of such section.