Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Students To Return To Sports With Less Than 2.0

From Senator Mike Ross

The state Board of Education adopted rules last week to allow students to participate in extra-curricular activities when their grades fall below a 2.0 average.

Since 1993 students have been required to maintain a grade average of 2.0, which is equivalent to a C. The highest possible grade is 4.0, which is equivalent to an A.

The new rules are scheduled to take effect in the spring semester in 1998. If a student's grade average falls below 2.0, there will be several possible alteratives that will allow him or her to continue in activities. For example, the students will remain eligible if their scores on standardized tests are high enough.

Seniors will be eligible if they have passed the high school profi-ciency exam in literacy and math. Formerly, the test was called the high school exit exam.

For students in the 10th and 11th grades, they will qualify if their scores are at or above the 50th percentile on a national stand-ardized test that is administered by the state. For example, the state now requires 10th graders to take the ninth edition of the Stanford Achievement Test.

Students also will be required to have passed four academic courses the previous semester.

The board adopted alternatives for students who don't meet the academic requirements. First of all, the student's local school board will have to request a waiver of the standards. However, school districts that request waivers then must comply with other requirements. They will have to set up supple-mental instruction classes for under-achieving students. A state-certified teacher must teach the supplemental classes.

Students in supplemental edu-cation classes may not have any unexcused absenses if they wish to retain their eligibility for activities. Also, they may have no suspensions for misbehavior in the current semester and they may have no known criminl convictions. If a student is suspended from activities for getting into trouble, he or she will still have to complete the supplemental classes.

The state Education Department must approve districts' supplemen-tal education plans. The plans will have to include the requirement that the student pass four academic courses the previous semester. Stu-dents will have to take at least 100 minutes a week of supplemental classes.

A legislative committee will review the new rules later this year. One issue yet to be resolved is the scheduling of supplemental classes. The new rules say that supplemen-tal classes cannot be held during ordinary class time, so that students don't simply substitute regular class time for supplemental courses.

Some school administrators said they would like to offer supplemen-tal classes during lunch period and in study halls. Although the board voted to require the supplemental programs before or after the reg-ular school day, it agreed to look at each request on an individual basis.

Advocates of the change in regu-lations said that the 2.0 grade point requirement had a negative effect on young people with academic dif-ficulties. They cited reports from around the country indicating that extracurricular activities are a benefit to students.

One study indicated that 41,000 students in Arkansas have been declared ineligible from partici-pating in activities, mainly athletics. Opponents of the previous 2.0 re-quirement contended that it was unsuccessful. They said that stu-dents in school activities were less likely to get involved in gangs and to experiemnt with illegal drugs.