Student school board asks permission to send memorandum backing bill for athletic PE credit
Summary
Administrators told the board a student‑drafted memorandum supports a house bill to allow a half PE credit for participation in school‑sanctioned athletics; the student presenter will appear at the next meeting and the memorandum will appear on the consent agenda or as a separate action item.
Superintendent Dr. Thompson informed the board that Trenton Puliskey, president of the RCAS student school board, worked with a legislator to draft a house bill that would allow schools to grant one‑half of a physical education credit for participation in school‑sanctioned athletics.
Dr. Thompson said the student school board prepared a memorandum in support of the bill and asked for the board’s permission for the student board to send that memorandum to legislators. He noted Trenton could not attend for medical reasons and will present at the next meeting to answer questions. The superintendent said the memorandum will be placed on the consent agenda at that meeting for consideration and possible approval.
Board discussion centered on logistics: Walt Swan asked whether fine‑arts participation (band) had been considered; Dr. Thompson replied existing law already allows fine‑arts participation to count as credit. Trustees also clarified that approving the student school board’s memorandum would allow the student board to send the letter but would not constitute the full board’s endorsement of the policy change. The board indicated they may present the student memo as a separate action item if trustees expect to ask questions of the student presenter.
Next steps: The student will present in person at the next meeting; the board will vote on whether to allow the student school board to send the memorandum to legislators and can decide whether to pull the item from consent for discussion.
