Extracurricular Activities

Clarified that funds from booster clubs can be used to pay athletic coaches and activity sponsors, but strictly prohibited from being used as severance pay or compensation.

Explicitly defined eligibility requirements and procedures for home education, charter school, and Florida Virtual School students to participate in interscholastic activities.

Updated criteria for students transferring between different types of schools (e.g., public to home education) to ensure they can participate immediately if they meet prior academic standards.

Authorized public schools to assess an activity fee for students who are not enrolled but are eligible to participate, with limits based on enrolled student fees or a $400 cap.

Mandated that the annual activity fee schedule and supporting cost calculations be published on the school district website.

Revised the definition of 'eligible to participate' to include tryouts, off-season conditioning, and summer workouts, ensuring students are not required to be on a specific team to be considered eligible.

Required governing organizations to establish a timeline for appeals, limiting the process to no more than 20 days, and authorized the FHSAA executive director to rule on specific appeals.

New detailed eligibility criteria were added for home education, charter school, and Florida Virtual School students, including requirements to demonstrate educational progress and meet residency standards to participate in interscholastic activities.

Rules regarding student transfers were clarified to allow students to continue participating in their current sport for the remainder of the school year if they transfer schools, provided they meet academic and behavioral standards.

District school boards are now authorized to adopt policies allowing booster clubs to pay athletic coaches or activity sponsors, but the law explicitly forbids using these funds for severance pay or general compensation.

Academic eligibility requirements were revised to include a mandatory academic performance contract for students with GPAs below 2.0, requiring them to attend summer school to maintain eligibility.

The Florida High School Athletic Association is now required to adopt, maintain, and enforce sport-specific manuals or handbooks and must provide accommodations for athletes requesting exemptions from real-time scoring.

The timeframe for governing organizations to review eligibility appeals was reduced to a maximum of 20 days, and the deadline for publishing activity fee schedules was set to July 1 annually.

The term 'administrative personnel' was expanded to include athletic administrators and activity sponsor directors, allowing superintendents to negotiate their compensation separately from standard salary schedules.

Added specific eligibility pathways and requirements for home education, charter school, and Florida Virtual School students to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities at public schools.

Modified the rule prohibiting students from playing two sports in one year to include specific exceptions for military families, foster care placements, custody changes, and court-authorized good cause.

Replaced vague fee prohibitions with a specific rule allowing public schools to assess an 'activity fee' limited strictly to the prorated per-student cost of the activity.

Added a new definition for 'prorated per-student cost to the school or district for the activity' to clarify how fees must be calculated.

Added requirements for schools to adopt written policies for calculating activity costs and to publish fee schedules online annually.

Added a provision allowing public schools to assess out-of-pocket costs specifically for homeschool students participating in activities.

Modified compensation rules for athletic coaches and activity sponsors to allow payments from booster clubs and to explicitly permit compensation to exceed standard salary schedules.

Added a requirement for governing organizations to establish a timeline for appeals that cannot exceed 20 days.

Revised eligibility requirements to clearly define how home education, charter, and virtual school students must meet academic and residency standards to participate in public school extracurricular activities.

Added specific criteria prohibiting a student from participating in the same sport at two different schools within the same year, with narrow exceptions for military moves, foster care, custody changes, or good cause.

Mandated that governing organizations (like the FHSAA) must provide a determination on eligibility requests within 14 days and adopt bylaws for the appeals process.

Updated provisions to ensure insurance coverage for eligible students from non-traditional schools and clarified liability exemptions for parents providing transportation.

Corrected section numbering and cross-references throughout the statute to align with current Florida Statutes.