JJIB - Interscholastic Athletics
Date Adopted: 6 April 1988
Current Review / Revision: 9 April 2025
Definitions—
1. “Interscholastic sport” means an activity in which a student represents the student’s school in the sport in competition against another school.
2. “Gender-designated interscholastic sport” means an interscholastic sport that is specifically designated for female or male students.
3. “Title IX” means Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.
The Board encourages the participation of both boys and girls in the District’s interscholastic athletics program. One of the goals of this program is to meet the needs and interests of both male and female students with regard to interscholastic sports
District participation in interscholastic athletics will be subject to approval by the Board. The school administration will set up rules for participation in, and the conduct of athletic events.
In order for a student to participate in interscholastic athletic events, he/she must have the written consent of a parent or guardian and must be determined physically able to participate in the particular sport by a medical doctor.
Insurance against accident or injury will be made available by the District to students engaging in interscholastic athletics.
Exceptions to this policy require prior Board approval.
Adding or Deleting Interscholastic Competitive Sports
Addition or deletion of interscholastic competitive sports to/from the athletic program of any school must be approved by the Board. The school administration will track “expressed interest” in sports by the student body, evaluate the level of competition appropriate to each sport, and make recommendations to the Board.
The school administration at schools involved in interscholastic competitive sports programs will survey student interest regularly to receive input concerning student interest in sports participation.
Adding any interscholastic competitive sport may be considered when the following criteria are met:
a) sufficient numbers of students express serious interest in participating in a particular sport not currently being offered;
b) facilities and equipment are available, or could be added without undue financial burden to the District;
c) reasonable competition exists within the school’s regional classification; and
d) addition of the sport would generally be in the best interest of the students within the District.
Consideration for deletion of a sport from the athletic program of a school will be based on the adverse of the above criteria.
Participation rates of both boys and girls will be considered before adding or deleting any sport. Every effort will be made to maintain comparable sports activities for both boys and girls.
High School Sports
High school sports programs will include students in grades 9-12 interested in participating in cheerleading and in sports sanctioned by the Utah High School Activities Association.
The District will provide bus transportation to after-school practices at Emery High School with the regular Activity Bus being available for transportation home at the scheduled time.
Transportation to morning practices, and practices scheduled at specially arranged times, as well as transportation to school after such practices, will be the responsibility of the parent.
Middle School Sports
Middle school sports will include students in grades 6-8 interested in participating in sports programs approved by the School Board. It is the policy of the Board of Education that middle school sports competition be limited to the Carbon and Emery area. Exceptions to this policy require Board approval.
As is the rule of the High School Activities Association for high school sports programs state-wide, it is the policy of the Emery County School District that a middle school student who is unsuccessful in a tryout for a sport in another middle school will not be eligible to participate in that sport in any middle school in the District during that season.
Elementary students are not permitted to participate in secondary school athletic programs without prior Board approval.
No private vehicles will be used for middle school sports travel.
Report on Interscholastic Sports—
Before the beginning of each academic year, the athletic director or another designated administrator from each school in the District which sponsors or offers an interscholastic sport shall provide the Board of Education with a report regarding the interscholastic sports available at the school, including both gender-designated interscholastic sports and interscholastic sports which are designated as mixed. The report shall include the interscholastic sports designated by the Utah High School Activities Association (“UHSAA”) as girls sports, boys sports, and mixed sports, but shall also include any interscholastic sports that are not regulated by UHSAA. The report shall include:
1. the number of students participating in each interscholastic sport, categorized by gender;
2. the amount of spending that the school devotes to each gender-designated interscholastic sport (in total and on a per-student basis);
3. the amount of spending that the school devotes to each interscholastic sport which is not gender-designated (in total and on a per-student basis);
4. a comparison and evaluation of designated practice and game locations for each interscholastic sport, including comparisons between similar gender-designated interscholastic sports; and
5. information regarding the school’s efforts to comply with Utah Code Title 63G, Chapter 31, Part 2, Distinctions on the Basis of Sex, and to comply with the Title IX nondiscrimination requirements as those apply to interscholastic sports.
If the report data indicate that there is an overall discrepancy in participation of 10% or greater between the school’s male-designated interscholastic sports and the school’s female-designated interscholastic sports, the report shall also include an action plan developed by the school to address the discrepancy.
Utah Code § 53G-6-1101(2) (2024)
Utah High Schools Activities Association Handbook 2023-2024 pg. 61
Board Review of Reports—
The Board of Education shall review each report it receives from schools on interscholastic athletic sports in a public board meeting.
Utah Code § 53G-6-1101(3) (2024)
Previous Revision 8 April 2015