All MCPS middle and high school students will be eligible for sports and extracurricular activities during the first semester of the 2020-21 academic year, a decision the school board made due to the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 drastically and suddenly changed schools across the country, including the 208 in Montgomery County, pushing learning online as buildings closed.
Grading policies that typically determine when students are eligible for extracurriculars have also temporarily been changed as a result. In a unanimous vote, school board members this week agreed that “leveling the playing field” and allowing universal eligibility through the first semester of the next school year will support students’ physical, social and emotional health.
The board also voted to waive eligibility requirements for the remainder of the current academic year. That might seem like an odd move, since teams can’t meet in person, Superintendent Jack Smith said, but many coaches are connecting with their teams through virtual workouts and team meetings.
The school board’s decision could act as a test of a proposed permanent change to eligibility requirements.
Last year, the school board authorized a review of the policy that determines who is eligible, in a push to find ways to engage students in their school work.
Sports and other extracurriculars, board members said, often motivate students to do well in school. Sometimes, it is the only reason they remain engaged and if they are ineligible for activities, they might give up, board member Pat O’Neill said when the review began.
The current policy says middle and high school students must maintain a 2.0 grade-point average or higher and have no more than one failing grade in the previous grading period to participate in extracurricular activities. The policy was last amended in 2011.
In February, a school board committee recommended that all freshmen be eligible for extracurriculars for their first year in high school.
The current policy allows first-year high school freshmen to participate in sports through the first quarter. Then, their eligibility is based on their grades.
The rationale behind the proposed change, MCPS Director of Athletics Jeff Sullivan said, was to provide consistency for sports seasons. So, regardless of whether a student participates in a fall or spring sport, they could participate, Sullivan said.
The committee also recommended eliminating academic eligibility requirements for extracurricular activities that are not sports, like clubs and organizations.
The full school board must consider and vote on the committee’s recommended policy changes before they can take effect. A date for consideration has not been set.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
