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Board hears update on draft athletic and extracurricular participation agreement; committee aims for July board review
Summary
District staff and an advisory committee are finalizing a new districtwide athletic and extracurricular participation agreement meant to align with the code of conduct, define academic eligibility and sportsmanship standards, and include an implementation guide; administrators said a draft is expected for board review in July.
The West Irondequoit Board of Education on Thursday received an update on a committee working to draft a districtwide athletic and extracurricular participation agreement that administrators described as a companion to the district code of conduct.
District staff described the committee’s composition as including coaches (across levels), counselors, administrators, club advisors, parents and students. The committee has met four times and worked first by reviewing exemplar agreements from other districts, then by splitting into subcommittees to draft guidance on specific sections. Administrators said the agreement is intended to cover athletics, performing arts and other school-sponsored extracurricular activities and will clearly state expectations on academic eligibility, behavior, and sportsmanship.
The draft will outline progressive responses to offenses and emphasize restorative practices, the presentation said. Administrators said the document is intended to be a signed agreement read and acknowledged by families and students (the district noted electronic signature systems such as ArbiterSports/FamilyID could be used for distribution and collection).
Board members and the public asked how the agreement would be implemented. Suggestions included requiring advisors and coaches to acknowledge or sign the agreement so it reflects shared expectations, making the agreement visible to classroom teachers so they can support student eligibility, and creating an implementation guide and training materials for coaches and club advisors. Administrators acknowledged the need for monitoring and for an implementation plan and said they are drafting guidance for advisors and coaches and plan further committee review before bringing a single, final draft to the board. Staff said they expect to finish committee revisions within three to four weeks and planned a full committee review before presenting a final document to the board by July for inclusion ahead of fall activities.
Board members clarified the committee’s current focus is for grades 7–12 with attention to alignment with building-level handbooks for younger grades; administrators said the agreement will be written to apply across the district, with building-level handbooks used for local alignment where appropriate.
No formal action was taken Thursday; the presentation was informational and the committee will return with a draft for policy consideration and possible adoption at a later meeting.
