Just back from a fourday vacation in Santa Fe, where I got in touch with my inner glutton. This brief respite was much needed coming on the heels of back-to-back student activities conferences where the discussions among academic coordinators centered on the following topics: The TAKS conflict with the 2003 UIL Academic State Meet.
Coaches and academic directors want to know whether they need to pack their teams and crews with seniors. By far, this has been the hot concern this fall, and it’s frustrating being unable to provide specific information. While we have nothing on paper, we’ve been assured that TEA will provide alternate methods and dates for administering TAKS in much the same way as they resolved TAAS conflicts. According to Dr. Bill Farney, UIL director, “Schools and individuals can be given the assurance that the (Texas Education) Agency is aware of the problem and will work as they did with TAAS testing to provide options.”
Currently, the Grade 9 mathematics and grades 10 and 11 social studies TAKS tests are scheduled for Thursday, May 1. The grades 10 and 11 science tests are set for Friday, May 2. If this schedule were to be followed, sophomores and juniors will be unlikely to participate in the following state meet contests: calculator applications, computer science, editorial writing, feature writing, headline writing, news writing, mathematics, prose interpretation, poetry interpretation, informative speaking, persuasive speaking and Lincoln-Douglas debate.
I suppose students who attend one of the Capital area schools may be able to finish their tests and zip down to the Thompson Center in time to make roll call, although with Austin traffic, it’s unlikely.
Conference 2A, 3A and 4A one-act play students would not be so lucky. The 3A state one-act play competition begins on Thursday, May 1; 2A and 4A follow the next day.
Furthermore, according to the UIL/TEA Side by Side, the commissioner of education recommends that school districts avoid scheduling extracurricular activities or public performances “to occur on the day immediately preceding or evening immediately preceding” the day on which state standardized tests are administered. I realize this matter has caused considerable consternation and concern, and we regret not being able to provide more concrete information, but it’s forthcoming, we’re told.
Spring Meet Code
Section 901 (b) of the Constitution and Contest Rules states, “The general Spring Meet Code means to: (9) Insure that UIL Academic district, regional and state meets receive precedence over non-qualifying contests or meets.”
This means it’s a violation of the C&CR to force a student to attend a non-district baseball game or band festival over the regional academic meet. A number of coaches have attempted to extrapolate far beyond this restriction by claiming that district, region or state academics should take precedence over any other activity.
That’s not what the rule states. The Spring Meet Code makes it a violation to pressure a student to miss an academic contest that counts toward district, region or state meet standing in order to attend a non-qualifying contest — a regional qualifiers track meet, for example. However, if a student has an irresolvable conflict between the regional academic meet and a district softball game, then the student must flip a coin, toss a dart, consult with his or her parents, clergyman or zodiac, or in some other way select one over the other. Other provisions of the Spring Meet Code might kick in if a teacher, director or coach threatens or punishes a child for choosing one activity over the other, but short of that, all concerned should enter the season aware that potential conflicts exist and prepared to implement common-sense rules and policies to resolve them.
Academic rule changes.
First, the 4-member teams. This year, all four team members of the winning team may advance, district to region, region to state.
Have we changed how team scores are calculated? No. The top three scores still constitute the overall team score. Can the fourth member of the winning team receive a medal or ribbon?
Absolutely.
What about tiebreakers?
This summer, the Academic Committee of the Legislative Council passed proposals that would eliminate tiebreakers in a number of contests. Why? Because we’re running out of space, particularly at some of the smaller regions. Advancing 4-member teams will strain the classroom situation at several sites. Allowing multiple individual and team ties to advance really cramps the situation. For example, one district last spring advanced six individuals to region: first, second and a four-way tie for third.
This, we can’t tolerate.
By the time you read this, the full council will have considered the proposals. If passed, they’ll go to the Commissioner of Education. If he approves them as well, they’ll take effect Sept. 1, 2003.
The Awards Rule.
This rule has vexed UIL academic coaches for years. Here’s the bottom line: food is not an award. A Lincoln Continental for winning the district headline contest? Now, that’s an award.
Food is not an award unless it’s given specifically for competing in a UIL academic activity. So, if you’re dumb enough to announce, “Congratulations, Suzie, for placing third in the district poetry interpretation contest. On behalf of the School Board, administration and faculty, I want to present you with this cheeseburger and wish you the best of luck at region. And just know that if you place at region, we’ll present to you another cheeseburger, and we might even spring for an order of large fries as well.” That’s a violation of the Awards Rule. Otherwise, feeding students during rehearsal, practice, invitational tournaments, the district meet or post-district tournaments is permissible. Food is considered valuable consideration and is, therefore, subject to the Amateur Rule, which applies only to athletics.
Academic stipend policy.
May a school pay an academic coach a stipend?
Of course. Hundreds, even thousands of dollars, if it so desires. All the other extracurricular coaches receive a few extra bucks for their extra time, why shouldn’t academic coaches as well? However, it’s important to observe Section 901 of the C&CR, which states, “Any salary or stipend arrangement which makes it to the financial interest of a coach, director or sponsor to win a UIL contest will be in violation of the Spring Meet Code, and the member school district, participant school and the school district personnel shall be subject to the range of penalties outlined in Sections 27 and 28.”
Those penalties range from reprimand to public reprimand, forfeiture of contest, disqualification, suspension and, in extreme cases, getting your name printed on the back page of the Leaguer.
So, what to do? Inventory the contact hours with students, the weekends away from home attending invitational meets and tournaments, the medals and trophies won, the scholarships earned and all the other above-andbeyond- the-call-of-duty details and present them to your school board with the request that you be paid at least the same as the junior varsity cheerleader sponsor — more if you think you can get it. I’d tell you how much to ask for, but then I’d get irate calls from UIL academic coaches who are paid considerably more and believe that I’ve just punched a hole in the bottom of the market.
You cannot engineer a stipend that pays you a flat fee plus “x” number of dollars if your student advances to region, an additional “x” number of dollars if your student advances to state, and an additional “x” number of dollars if your student wins at state. That would violate the Spring Meet Code. But your school may pay your post-district expenses and per diem.
Then, at the end of the year, if the school wants to honor you with a pair of cowboy boots or a gift certificate to Red Lobster, it may do so, so long as the gift doesn’t cost more than $300, unless you’re planning to retire at the end of the year, in which case they can give you “any amount from any source.”
A Lincoln Continental would be nice. And you thought you’d never find a reason to want to retire.