2430 - DISTRICT-SPONSORED CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES

DeWitt Public Schools

Administrative Guidelines

2430 - DISTRICT-SPONSORED CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES

Since the policy of the Board of Education is to maintain a co-curricular activities program sufficiently varied to meet the wide range of vocational, recreational, social, and cultural needs and interests of the students, all students should be urged to join at least one club or activity.

	A.	Existing Clubs or Activities
		At the start of the school year, all students should be provided with information on existing clubs, and all co-curricular and extra-curricular activities and encouraged to participate.
	B.	New Activities
		All new activities shall be approved in the following manner:

Requests for new activities should be submitted to the principal and contain the following:

			a.	purpose and rationale
			b.	intended standards for students
			c.	participation
			d.	plan of operation
			e.	costs
			f.	persons in charge

		2.	The principal will review each request and either reject or submit each for Board approval based on connections to the curriculum available funding and student interests. The principals decision is final.
		3.	Upon approval, an activity will be listed as a part of the co-curricular or extra-curricular program, and its fiscal account established by the Board.

	C.	Fiscal Compliance
		Both co-curricular and extra-curricular activities need to comply with financial and bookkeeping controls established by the business office.
		Each activity advisor is to provide the building principal with an update on the fiscal status of the activity prior to starting in August and again by January 15th and lasting by June 30th.
	D.	Operating Guidelines
		The principal shall prepare and publish operating procedures for all co-curricular/extra-curricular activities which ensure that:

		1.	students participate in ways that do not interfere with their academic programs;
		2.	the safety and welfare of the students is adequately safeguarded;
		3.	all activities have proper faculty planning, direction, and supervision;
		4.	faculty members work cooperatively so that some activities do not interfere with the operations of others;
		5.	faculty members and students are encouraged to attend activities involving student performances;
		6.	each activity is assessed continuously relative to its stated purpose and goals;
		7.	building facilities and equipment are reserved appropriately well in advance being used safely and as intended, and being maintained in proper condition.

Eligibility Requirements

All students shall meet the eligibility requirements described in the Code of Conduct and the athletic code.

No student who has been absent for a school day may participate in an extra-curricular activity scheduled for the afternoon without the approval of the building principal and the athletic director (athletics only).

Schedule Conflicts

Many students have multiple talents and interests they wish to develop or pursue through participation in District-sponsored activities and groups. Since the District's policy is to encourage such participation, the following guidelines have been established for dealing with potential schedule conflicts a student could experience when participating in more than one activity.

	A.	At the beginning of each semester or season, each staff member in charge of a credit course, co-curricular, or extra-curricular activity is to prepare a schedule for any practices, performances, or other after-school obligations involved in participation. One (1) copy of this information is to be sent to the school office and one (1) copy to the community education department for approval.
	B.	By the first day of an activity, students are to be made aware of the schedule of any practices and performances as well as other obligations. Each staff-member-in-charge is to determine which, if any, students will have conflicts with other activities in which they wish to participate.
	C.	If such conflicts exist, the staff-members-in-charge of the activities in conflict are to meet for the purpose of resolving the conflict. The emphasis should be on modifying the requirements so the student can participate in both activities.
	D.	If it is not possible to resolve the conflict without seriously undermining the integrity of the activity program, the following procedure is to be followed:

		1.	If one of the activities provides the student with credit and the other one doesn't, the student and his/her parents are to be made aware of the possible consequences of not enrolling in each activity and of not meeting the obligations for participation.
		2.	If both activities are credit activities, the student is to be advised to contact the principal to work out a solution that does not penalize the student.
		3.	If one of the activities is an after-school, off-shoot of a credit activity but is not, itself, a credit activity, e.g., jazz band from concert band, the requirements for the credit activity may not be imposed as a condition for participating in the noncredit, after-school activity.

Revised 5/04