Student Participation in Athletics Policy, Procedure Approved

The Board of Education approved the revisions made to Policy JI and Procedure JI-P, which outline student participation in interscholastic athletics.

At its spring Board of Directors meeting, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) made a change in the attendance requirement for athletic eligibility. The new NCHSAA rule for attendance and eligibility states the student must meet the local attendance requirements.

The previous NCHSAA standard, which GCS followed, has been that students must have daily attendance of 85 percent for the previous semester. The revision incorporates this language into Policy JI as it is now a local requirement.

This language allows the district to continue with the same standard for both middle- and high-school athletes for attendance and athletic eligibility. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has the same attendance standard for middle school athletes.

The procedure JI-P has also been revised in support of the proposed policy change and includes a process for schools to request a hardship exception to the attendance requirement.