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La Porte ISD trustees vote to opt out of state rule allowing non‑enrolled students in UIL activities
Summary
In response to changes in Senate Bill 401, the La Porte ISD board voted unanimously to opt out of allowing non‑enrolled students to participate in UIL activities, citing attendance, budget and team‑culture concerns.
The La Porte Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to opt out of the state policy change in Senate Bill 401 that would otherwise require districts to allow non‑enrolled students to participate in University Interscholastic League (UIL) activities unless the board chose to opt out.
Speaker 3 explained the change in law and staff recommendations to the trustees, noting the statutory shift in who must be allowed to participate unless the local board votes to opt out. Several trustees argued for opting out, emphasizing that extracurricular participation should be tied to school attendance and membership in the local community. One trustee said participation requires being an “ambassador” and that students should be on campus and part of the district to participate.
Trustees also raised practical concerns including coaching workload and budget implications if a large number of non‑enrolled students joined teams, and potential liability and attendance funding issues for students who are not enrolled locally. After discussion, Trustee 7 moved to opt out of SB 401 under policy FM (local); the motion was seconded and carried unanimously as announced by the presiding speaker.
The board recorded no formal vote tallies in the transcript; staff noted they would follow policy procedures to implement the local decision.
