Othello School District updates athletics and activities handbook; sets clearer eligibility thresholds

Carlos Gonzales told the Othello School District Board on Thursday that the district has revised its athletics and activities handbook to align with the district's graduate profile and to clarify eligibility requirements for grades 7–12.

Gonzales said the handbook revision begins with an expanded athletics philosophy developed with stakeholders that ties athletic participation to five components of the graduate profile: critical thinking, community, communication, learning and advocacy.

The nut graf: the revisions set clear, measurable thresholds for participation. Gonzales said, "students must be in class and on time at least 90% of the time or greater in a 4 week period" to maintain eligibility, and that behavior thresholds limit eligibility to students with no more than one Skyward referral in a rolling four‑week window. He said the committee also revised academic language that previously barred any failing grades and moved to a threshold-based approach.

Gonzales said the handbook and a public link to the document are available for review. He described implementation steps including monitoring systems at the high school and middle school and noted exceptions for excused absences such as medical appointments, funerals and other unavoidable circumstances.

Board members praised the approach as balancing accountability and student support. A board comment noted that coaches also must be held accountable and that the changes aim to prepare students for post‑secondary success as well as competitive athletics.

Ending: the board received the informational presentation; the handbook materials will be available publicly and will return to the board in a later meeting if a formal adoption step is required.