Canyon ISD board adopts opt‑out policy for non‑enrolled students after state law change on extracurricular eligibility

CANYON, Texas — The Canyon ISD Board of Trustees on July 14 approved local policy language that opts the district out of allowing students who are not enrolled in the district — including private or home‑schooled students — to participate in district curricular or extracurricular activities. The change follows a state law revision in Senate Bill 401 that altered eligibility language statewide.

Senate Bill 401 amended the Education Code to change discretionary language about non‑enrolled students. Previously districts had discretion to permit non‑enrolled students to participate in extracurricular activities; SB401’s change made the standard prescriptive in certain contexts, triggering a board decision about whether to accept the new interpretation or to opt out locally. Canyon ISD legal staff presented two revised local policies, FD Local and FM Local,…