The student council provides for student activities, serves as a training experience for student leaders, promotes the common good, gives students a share in the management of the school, develops high ideals of personal conduct, acts as a clearinghouse for student activities, seeks to interest students in school district affairs and helps solve problems that may arise.  Members of the council are student representatives who have direct access to the administration.

The principal, in conjunction with the students and licensed employees, will set forth the guidelines for the student government's elections, operations, and other elements of the government.

Approved August 27, 2018          
Reviewed October 24, 2022         
Revised August 27, 2018

No student organization shall exist which is not approved by the board.  The superintendent shall determine qualifications and regulations for student groups and make recommendations to the board for groups seeking approval.  Applications for organizing shall be relayed to the superintendent through the building principal.

Secondary school student-initiated, noncurriculum-related groups and student curriculum-related groups, upon receiving permission from the principal, may use school facilities for group meetings during non-instructional time.

Non-instructional time will mean any time before the first period of the day and after the last period of the day in which any student attends class.  Meetings will not interfere with the orderly conduct of the education program or other school district operations.  It is within the discretion of the principal to determine whether the meetings will interfere with the orderly conduct of the education program or other school district operations.  Activities relating to and part of the education program will have priority over the activities of another organization.

Curriculum-Related Organizations

It will also be the responsibility of the principal to determine whether a student group is curriculum-related.  One or more of the following questions will be answered affirmatively if the group is curriculum-related:

• Is the subject matter of the group actually taught in a regularly offered course?
• Will the subject matter of the group soon be taught in a regularly offered course?
• Does the subject matter of the group concern the body of courses as a whole?
• Is participation in the group required for a particular course?
• Does participation in the group result in academic credit?

Secondary school curriculum-related student organizations may use the school district facilities for meetings and other purposes before and after the instructional school day.  Employees are assigned to monitor approved meetings and may interact with curriculum-related organizations.

Noncurriculum-Related Organizations

Student-initiated, noncurriculum-related organizations are provided access to meeting space and school district facilities.

Only students may attend and participate in meetings of noncurriculum-related groups.  Such attendance is strictly voluntary and student-initiated.  As a means of determining whether a student's attendance is voluntary, the principal may require parental consent for the student to attend the meetings.

Employees will be assigned to monitor approved meetings.  Employees will not participate in the meeting or assist in planning, criticizing, or encouraging attendance.  Only students may be involved in and attend the noncurriculum group's meetings.

Approved August 27, 2018          
Reviewed October 24, 2022         
Revised August 27, 2018

Students may produce official school publications as part of the curriculum under the supervision of a faculty advisor and the principal.  Official school publications include material produced in the journalism, newspaper, yearbook, or writing classes and distributed to the student body either free or for a fee.

Any expression made by students, including student expression in official school publications, is not an expression of official school policy.  The school district, the board, and the employees or officials are not liable in any civil or criminal action for any student expression made or published by students unless the employees or officials have interfered with or altered the content of the student speech or expression.  The liability, if any, is only to the extent of the interference or alteration of the speech or expression.

Official school publications are free from prior restraint by employees or officials except as provided by law.  A faculty advisor will supervise student writers to maintain professional standards of English and journalism and to comply with the law including, but not limited to, the restrictions against unlawful speech.  The production of official school publications is guided by the law and by the ethical standards adopted by professional associations or societies of journalism.

Persons, other than students, who believe they have been aggrieved by student expression in a student-produced official school publication will follow the grievance procedure outlined in board policy 214.1.  Students who believe their freedom of expression in a student-produced official school publication has been restricted will follow the grievance procedure outlined in board policy.

The superintendent is responsible for developing a student publications code.  This code will include, but not be limited to, reasonable rules including time, place, and manner of restrictions.  The superintendent will also be responsible for distributing this board policy and the student publications code to the students and their parents.

Approved August 27, 2018          
Reviewed October 24, 2022         
Revised August 27, 2018

Students, as part of the education program, may participate in contests or other public and private events approved by the superintendent that will be of benefit to the student and the education program.  Performance at such events is a privilege.

Students, who perform at such events, serve as ambassadors of the school district and must conduct themselves in the same manner as required in the regular school day.  Students who fail to abide by this policy and the administrative regulations supporting it may be subject to disciplinary measures. 

Students will be allowed to perform in these events only with proper permission and supervision and when the events do not disrupt the education program or other school district operations.  The events must be approved by the superintendent, unless it involves unusual travel and expense, in which case the board must approve of the performance.

In determining whether to approve a student performance, the superintendent shall consider the following guidelines:

• Performances by student groups below the high school level should be allowed on a very limited basis;
• All groups of students should have an opportunity to participate; and,
• Extensive travel by one group of students should be discouraged.

It is within the discretion of the superintendent to determine whether the event will benefit the education program and the participating students.  Contests or other performances by students unapproved by the superintendent are the responsibility of the parent and the student.

Approved August 27, 2018          
Reviewed October 24, 2022          
Revised August 27, 2018

Students may raise funds for school-sponsored events with the permission of the principal and superintendent. Fund raising by students for events other than school-sponsored activities is not allowed. Collection boxes for school fund raising must have prior approval from the principal before being placed on school property or district-sponsored events.

District-sponsored student organizations may have no more than three fund raising projects per year.  Only one fund raising project may be a direct person-to-person sales campaign.

There is to be no duplication of direct person-to-person sales projects within the school year.  Two organizations may not sell the same project at different times during the same year.

Other fund-raising projects, such as dances, dinners, or car washes may be duplicated, but may not involve the solicitation of funds in any person-to-person manner.  For example, the FFA club could have a dance as could the student council, but neither group could solicit people individually to purchase tickets.

A request for authorization to engage in a fund raising project must be submitted well in advance on an appropriate form from the building principal’s office.  Such authorization must be obtained before any fund raising may take place.  The authorization of the building principal must be forwarded to the superintendent for final approval.  In general, no more than one fund raising project is to occur within the district at any given time, other than dances, dinners, car washes, or similar service types of projects.  Exceptions may be approved due to seasonal constraints or for other unusual circumstances.

All funds generated from district-sponsored student fundraising will be placed in the district’s student activity fund.

All monies are to be turned in to the principal on a daily basis and forwarded to the district central office.  The checks will be issued from the central office for the expenses incurred.  Monies collected in buildings on a daily basis are to be kept in a building vault.  If no vault exists in a building, the monies are to be forwarded to the district central office daily. Monies must never be kept overnight in desk drawers, file cabinets, or other classroom/office furnishings.

Any person or entity acting on behalf of the district and wishing to conduct any fundraising campaign for the benefit of the district shall begin the process by seeking prior approval from the Superintendent.  Any fundraising efforts conducted using the district's name, symbols, or imagery will be conducted in accordance with all policies, regulations and rules for fundraising within the district. 

A record of each organization’s projects will be maintained by the building principal, along with a calendar of all approved fund raising dates/activities.  The building principals shall coordinate their calendars to ensure compliance with this policy. The superintendent will appraise the Board of all scheduled fund-raising activities at least once per semester.

It is the responsibility of the superintendent, in conjunction with the principal and activities director, to develop administrative regulations regarding this policy.

Approved August 23, 2021          
Reviewed October 24, 2022        
Revised November 7, 2022

Participation in school activities is a privilege.  School activities provide the benefits of promoting additional interests and ability in the students during their school years and for their lifetime.  The purposes of the student activity program are (a) to provide an outlet for student interests; (b) to contribute to the physical, mental, social, emotional and civic development of students; (c) to allow students to participate in individual and group activities; and (d) to foster the development of leisure-time activities.

Every student shall be encouraged to participate in at least one school-sponsored activity or contest.  Any eligible student may elect to participate in the extra-curricular activities of the student’s choice.  No coercion shall be used to force a student to participate in an activity.  A student shall not be required to participate in one activity in order to be eligible to participate in another activity. 

Students will have an opportunity to participate in a school activity unless the activity is not offered or the student cannot participate for disciplinary reasons.  If the activity is an intramural or interscholastic athletic activity, students of the opposite sex will have a comparable opportunity for participation.  Comparable opportunity does not guarantee boys and girls will be allowed to play on each other's teams when there are athletic activities available that will allow both boys and girls to reap the benefits of school activities, which are the promotion of additional interests and abilities in the students.

All student activities affiliated with the school must be under the direction of school personnel.

Student activity events must be approved by the superintendent unless they involve unusual travel expense, in which case the board will take action.  The events must not disrupt the education program or other school district operations.

A high school student who participates in school-sponsored athletics may participate in a non-school sponsored sport during the same season with approval of the high school principal or of the athletic director.  Such outside participation will not conflict with the school sponsored athletic activity.

It is the responsibility of the superintendent to develop administrative regulations for school activities.  These regulations will include, but not be limited to, when physical examinations will be required, how and when parents will be informed about the risk of the activity, academic requirements, and proof of insurance on the student participating in certain activities.  Students wanting to participate in school activities must meet the requirements set out by the school district for participation in the activity.

Approved August 27, 2018          
Reviewed October 24, 2022          
Revised August 27, 2018

A student who transfers school districts under open enrollment in grades 9 – 12 shall

not be eligible to participate in varsity interscholastic contests and competitions during the first

90 school days of the transfer.  This restriction also shall apply to transfers resulting from an

approved petition filed by a parent or guardian to transfer to an alternative receiving district and when the pupil returns to the district of residence.

This 90-school-day restriction does not prohibit the pupil from practicing with an athletic team

during the 90 school days of ineligibility. 

This 90-school-day restriction is not applicable to a pupil who:

• participates in an athletic activity in the receiving district that is not available in the district of residence.
• is a participant in an athletic activity for which the resident district and receiving district have a “cooperative student participation agreement” in place as provided by rule 281-36.20(280).
• is requesting open enrollment due to a change in circumstances that meet the definition of good cause exemption from the 90-day waiting period in Iowa Code 282.18, subsection 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph 8, including:

• change in child’s residence due to a change in family residence
• change in child’s residence from the residence of one parent or guardian to the residence of a different parent or guardian
• change in the state in which the family residence is located
• change in a child’s parents’ marital status, a guardianship or custody proceeding, placement in foster care, adoption, participation in a foreign exchange program
• participation in a substance abuse or mental health treatment program
• change in the status of a child’s resident district such as removal of accreditation by the state board, surrender of accreditation, or permanent closure of a nonpublic school, revocation of a charter school contract, the failure of negotiations for a whole grade sharing, reorganization agreement, or the rejection of a current whole grade sharing agreement or reorganization plan.

Approved: August 8, 2022

Reviewed: August 8, 2022

Revised: August 8, 2022