Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 210 - State Department of Education › Chapter 35 - Standards for Accreditation of Elementary, Middle Level, Secondary, and Career and Technology Schools › Subchapter 17 - Co-Curricular and Extracurricular Programs › Section 210:35-17-2 - Co-curricular and extracurricular programs

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a) Co-curricular and extracurricular
				programs shall provide opportunities for developing leadership ability and
				stimulate active participation of all students in appropriate school
				organization and community activities according to their aptitudes and
				interests.
(b) Co-curricular and
				extracurricular programs shall be planned through the cooperative efforts of
				the teachers and students and shall be organized and administered so as to
				contribute to the educational objectives of the school.
(1) Students shall not participate in a
				particular activity more than one period during the regular school
				day.
(2) A member of the teaching
				staff shall be in charge of each activity. The sponsors shall be directly
				responsible to the principal or some person appointed by the administration to
				direct the activities of the school.
(3) The State Board of Education encourages
				all elementary, middle, junior high, and secondary students to be in attendance
				in their regularly scheduled classes so that maximum learning can occur.
				Educational programs are built on the foundation of continuity of instruction
				and participation in the classroom setting. Consistent classroom attendance can
				assist students toward development of strong work habits, responsibility and
				self-discipline. Since the educational merit of the co-curricular and
				extracurricular programs is recognized, the goal of the State Board of
				Education is to facilitate a balanced education for each student. It is with
				these goals and philosophy that the State Board of Education establishes the
				following attendance/activities regulations:
(A) It is the intent of the State Board of
				Education that the superintendent or elementary superintendent and local board
				of education annually review the scheduling of co-curricular and
				extracurricular activities so that minimal interruptions occur in the
				instructional program of a student. The Oklahoma Secondary Activities
				Association (OSSAA) guidelines related to student eligibility to participate in
				extra-curricular activities, activity absences, number of games allowed, and
				length of season shall be applicable to all Oklahoma public schools and
				students.
(B) The maximum number of
				absences for activities, whether sponsored by the school or outside
				agency/organization, which removes any student from the classroom shall be ten
				for any one class period of each school year. Excluded from this number are
				state and national levels of school-sponsored contests. State and national
				contests are those for which a student must earn the right to compete. The
				criteria for earning the right to represent the school in any activity or
				contest must be submitted in writing by local school sponsors and approved by
				the local board of education.
(C)
				Each local board of education shall appoint, at the beginning of the school
				year, an Internal Activities Review Committee. This committee shall be
				responsible for reviewing and recommending any deviation of the activities
				policy to the local board of education. Any deviation from the ten days absence
				rule shall not exceed five days.
(D) Each school district shall be responsible
				for maintaining an addendum to the attendance records to verify the conditions
				within the school system that apply to regulation (3) (B) of this
				subsection.
(E) Procedures for
				filing complaints are:
(i) A signed written
				complaint must first be filed with the local board of education. If the
				complaint is not resolved at the local level then the complaint should be filed
				with the Accreditation Section of the State Department of Education. Upon
				receipt of the complaint the Accreditation Section shall appoint a monitoring
				team to make an on-site visit and file a written report to the State Board of
				Education and Accreditation Section. This complaint must include a list of the
				name(s) of the student(s), date(s) and class(es) missed which exceed the
				regulation in (3) (B) of this subsection.
(ii) The school district shall provide to the
				monitoring team during the on-site visit the necessary records to verify or
				deny the violation as specified in the written complaint.
(iii) The monitoring team shall submit a
				written report to the superintendent or elementary superintendent and local
				board of education within 10 school days of the on-site visit.
(F) Upon the recommendation of the
				monitoring team the superintendent or elementary superintendent may be called
				to appear before the State Board of Education for determination of the
				appropriate action to be taken. In cases of flagrant violation state funds may
				be deducted/withheld from the school district.