Godley ISD adopts policy changes to allow non‑enrolled students in UIL activities amid director concerns

Godley ISD trustees voted 5–1 to adopt revisions to district policies FM Local and FD Local to implement state rules that allow non‑enrolled students to participate in University Interscholastic League (UIL) activities under Senate Bill 401. The vote came after more than an hour of public comment and detailed presentations from the district's athletic and fine‑arts directors.

The decision matters because the state law creates new eligibility pathways for homeschool and other non‑enrolled students while attaching administrative and compliance duties to districts. Athletic Director Danny Dudgeon and Fine Arts Director Joe Walker told the board the district needs time, funding and staff capacity to monitor discipline, academics and daily participation requirements.

Board members heard multiple public comments in support of allowing homeschool participation. One student, Oakley Hardcastle, said she has grown up playing sports in Godley and “would like to keep playing with [my friends] throughout middle school and high school.” Parent speakers, including Kay Kaye Botiford and Dustin Hardcastle, said homeschool students want equal access and provided sample packets from other districts.

Dudgeon told the board the law creates…