TX legislative alert re Change in Grad Credits for Athletics

0 Kudo

Author	Comment
sswtexslegs	TX legislative alert re Change in Grad Credits for Athletics	Lead	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 18 (04/09/08 8:54 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None This letter was forwarded to me via a fan alert from our high school: Attention: Coaches, Athletic Directors and Friends of Athletics The attached is a link to a Legislative Alert: Regarding a Change in Graduation Credits for Athletics. We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter, and strongly encourage you to act by responding to your appropriate State Board of Education Member. Please help us in our efforts to spread the word quickly as this petition will be discussed again in meetings as early as May 22nd and 23rd. Link: http://coach.thsca.com/documents/Legislative Alert SBOE.pdf Thank you! .W. Rutledge Executive Director Texas High School Coaches Association Last Edited By: sswtexslegs 04/09/08 9:38 AM. Edited 2 times.
bluknight		#1	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 655 (04/09/08 9:12 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but it might help if you made the petition gender neutral to reflect that all boys and girls participating in athletics will be adversely affected. This is the first I've heard of receiving credit for playing an interscholastic sport. I always thought playing for your school was an extracurricluar activity. In my case it got you out of Phys. Ed. class to give you an oppurtunity to take another class, but that was before block scheduling. Not being from Texas, help me understand how graduation credits are calculated?
sswtexslegs		#2	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 18 (04/09/08 9:13 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	If you don't know who your SBOE (state board of education) representative is, try this link: All you do is fill in your address and zip and submit then scroll to the bottom for your SBOE rep. http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/ Let your voice be heard. You can just call and leave a message, I think, but if anyone knows the best action, please post it here.
sswtexslegs		#3	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 18 (04/09/08 9:21 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Sorry, can't take credit for writing the petition. I'm only putting it out there for others to be informed and hope that people will let their rep know they support the bill. My daughter is only a freshman, so all I know is that she is having to take summer school to make up some credits because athletics is one of her electives each semester. They don't get the same number of credits as they would if they took art or spanish or marching band, so she falls behind on her credits and has to make them up somewhere. I don't fully understand it, but I'm sure someone will fully inform us.
lifeonthesidelines	credits	#4	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 383 (04/09/08 10:04 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I am not entirely sure, but I believe marching band falls under the same umbrella. That is why it can take the place of their PE credit. knight--it sounds like in your area you place interscholastic sports only after school. It is not like that in Texas where in order to play varsity or sub-varsity sports you have to be enrolled in the class and, in some districts, you have to stay in off-season when you are not playing. Since TX only requires one year of PE, the other 3 years Athletics class is considered an "empty" elective. With the State adding new academic requirements, students don't have enough hours in their schedules to take 4 years of PE and all of the academics and not take summer school and/or dual credit classes. Parents have felt for a while that kids are penalized for participating in sports for this reason, and now it will be worse. In our district, it seemed to be solved for a while with trimesters and my older daughters had more than enough credits, but now that we are back to semesters (can't have students not in core classes at TAKS time) my freshman daughter will have to take some summer classes--difficult to say the least with JO's and such.
bluknight		#5	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 655 (04/09/08 10:47 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	i see thank you for the explanation. yes where i am from, NY sports are an after-school activity.
loganpkbt	question	#6	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 585 (04/09/08 10:52 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	So sports are not a co-curricular in Texas ?
lifeonthesidelines	hmmm	#7	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 383 (04/09/08 10:55 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I am not sure what that means. I do know that after the first year they don't count towards anything, including your GPA. Ok, looked that up, sorry. I guess it is what we call extra-curricular here. Yes, it is considered that, but the norm, if not the rule, is for students to also be enrolled in athletics at least during the semester in which their sport occurs. For instance, while both my daughter's volleyball and soccer teams practiced 2 hours a day after school, games on T/F etc...she is also in one period a day of athletics. They receive a grade for this class and credit for it their first year of participation. After that, they do get graded and a credit, but they are "empty" and don't count for anything, including GPA. Last Edited By: lifeonthesidelines 04/09/08 11:05 AM. Edited 1 times.
loganpkbt	meaning	#8	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 585 (04/09/08 11:10 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	before/after school activities such as clubs and sports. In WA sports are considered "co curricular" after school no credit. The one footnote is some schools here you can play on a team and get your PE requirement waived so that you can take another credit class during regular school hours.
loganpkbt	atheletic class time	#9	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 585 (04/09/08 11:14 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	So is the entire team enrolled in class and that athletic class is the practice time or is there a class period atheltic and then practice after school?
lifeonthesidelines	both	#10	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 383 (04/09/08 12:11 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	The entire team is enrolled in the class AND then they practice after school. A good number of them stay in off-season class after season and work out but only do limited volleyball, like once a week. I think, but am not sure, that limit is set by UIL but I am not even sure why I think that :-) It is sometime a dogfight for last period varsity classes (among the coaches that is) so that they only meet once for a longer period of time.
bluknight		#11	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 655 (04/09/08 12:14 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	that is what it sounds like to me, which i find odd.
txyank	Dogfight? Not likely...	#12	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 95 (04/09/08 12:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	At our school, volleyball is first period and football is last period. What a surprise... First period starts at 9:00 a.m. and school gets out at 4:15 p.m. Sometimes our girls have to get to school as early as 6:30 a.m. especially at the beginning of the season. And then after practice, they have to get ready for school (with all that entails...makeup, hair, etc.) in the locker room.
lifeonthesidelines	depends	#13	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 383 (04/09/08 1:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	At my daughters' school, varsity football and volleyball are 7th period, freshmen are1st--at the school where I work, many of the sports, including football is 5th/lunch which I think would be horrible but it is a longer period plus I am sure they keep them through part of lunch sometimes.
bigtexbro	txyank	#14	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 2551 (04/09/08 8:03 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I would look in to the 630 am thing I think UIL wont let them start until 7 am...From my understanding they can only get at the school 2 hours before school...But then again UIL could have changed that rule
flyonthewall	interesting	#15	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 368 (04/09/08 9:22 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I have never heard of this type of situation...practice after school and a class of athletics with the team during school. I don't know of any schools in Virginia that operate that way. Is the Texas the only place that does this?
lifeonthesidelines	athletics classes	#16	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 383 (04/09/08 9:58 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	You know it's funny but since I have been reading this thread today I have been trying to think how it was when I was in school in California. I thought I remembered having both as well but perhaps it is a southern thing? We all get so used to things being the way they are for us that we forget other areas do them differently. I guess in an area where club tryouts are in July, some teams start "voluntary" training in August or Sept. and the season goes until May plus Nationals it should not surprise anyone that our girls have twice as much practice in school As for the early morning thing....it is a moot point at our high schools as they both start before 7:30 so 6:30's not very early, but at our junior high, tryouts and practice sometimes started at 5:30 or 6:00, especially for the 7th graders, and school does not start until after 9:15. I always sort of thought it was to weed out the "kids who were not really committed" but in reality I think it often eliminates the poor kids whose parents are not willing to get up or leave that early. It never seemed fair to me but when you have dozens if not more girls trying out I suppose the theory is that you can lose some?
bigtexbro		#17	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 2551 (04/09/08 11:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	lifeonthesidelines...If I remb. wright the reason behind the time before 7 was something todo with UIL rule that was more for the students to get rest and study time...I all so know for fact they cant play or practice after midnight.... I remb that rule very clear .But UIL has so many funny rules I dont get. Like if your on the bench you have to be seated during play....cant sit on floor cant stand behind bench....Just some funny rules I have come across in my years around UIL. But over all I do like what there doing for the kids.....
loganpkbt	Now	#18	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 585 (04/10/08 10:49 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	it makes more sense why the texas high school thread goes on like it does What is the breakdown of credits for graduation in Texas?
yellowcardtx		#19	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 307 (04/10/08 7:41 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Class of 2011 Recommended plan: English 4 Communication Applications .5 Math 4 Science 4 Social Studies 4 P.E. 1.5 Health .5 Other Languages .5 Technology 1 Fine Arts 1 Electives 3.5 Total Credits 26 * an increase of 2 credits over previous classes * distinguished plans typically have 2 more credits built in The recent addition of the 4X4 curriculum of 4 sciences and 4 math credits have put a crunch on some athletes. Our school is currently on a A/B Block schedule, i.e. the kids have 4 classes a day for 90 minutes. We double block athletics and band meaning that they meet every day for 90 minutes when the other classes meet 90 minutes every other day. Bottom line is that under that schedule the athlete will only have 25.5 available credits over 4 years because after the get 1.5 athletic credits in their career they become local credits and do not go toward graduation. Many schools are going to modified blocks or 8 classes a day schedules so the distinguished academic kids can get more credits. The State Board of Education also just adopted the policy of letting the athletes get 4 credits over their career. 1.5 of P.E. and 2.5 of fine arts. That was what band, rotc, theater, choir, etc. were already doing but for some reason athletics were not included in that scenario. Yes, Texas is one of the few states that allows athletic periods during the school day. In my opinion and that of many others in the state, it's what allows for our many successes. Not just on the field or court but other areas as well. We also have the largest participation of any other state (all sports combined). How many athletes would we lose if we lose them during the school day? UIL rule breakdown: 1. You can only participate for 60 minutes a day during a school day in the athletic period. 2. You have 8 hours of after school practice during a school week. Monday at 12:01 a.m. to the end of school on Friday. That averages to 2 hours of practice a day outside of the school day. So if you have the space and facilities you could get 3 hours of practice in a day. 3. There is no rules anymore about what time you can start on a day. Life is tough... even tougher if you are stupid!
loganpkbt	still trying to get the picture clear	#20	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 585 (04/10/08 7:59 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	how about the multi sport athletes how exactly does that work? Would that help or hurt a kid and their graduation requirements?