1006.15 Student standards for participation in interscholastic and intrascholastic extracurricular student activities; regulation.—
(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Craig Dickinson Act.”
(2) DETERMINATION.—Interscholastic extracurricular student activities are an important complement to the academic curriculum. Participation in a comprehensive extracurricular and academic program contributes to student development of the social and intellectual skills necessary to become a well-rounded adult. As used in this section, the term “extracurricular” means any school-authorized or education-related activity occurring during or outside the regular instructional school day. In the determination of whether a school offers an activity or a sport, the activity or sport must meet the designation requirements of s. 1006.205(3)(a).
(3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section and s. 1006.20, the term:
(a) “Eligible student” means a home education student, charter school student, private school student, Florida Virtual School student, alternative school student, or traditional public school student who wishes to participate in an interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity.
(b) “Eligible to participate”:
1. Includes, but is not limited to, a student participating in any of the following:
a. Tryouts.
b. Off-season conditioning.
c. Summer workouts.
d. Preseason conditioning.
e. In-season practice.
f. Contests.
2. Does not mean that a student must be placed on any specific team for interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activities.
(c) “Extracurricular” means any school-authorized or education-related activity occurring during or outside the regular instructional school day.
(d) “Governing organization” means any organization that governs the interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity of a school, including, but not limited to, the Florida High School Athletic Association.
(4) ELIGIBILITY.—
(a) To be eligible to participate in interscholastic extracurricular student activities, a student must:
1. Maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the previous semester or a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the courses required by s. 1002.3105(5) or s. 1003.4282.
2. Execute and fulfill the requirements of an academic performance contract between the student, the district school board, the appropriate governing association, and the student’s parents, if the student’s cumulative grade point average falls below 2.0, or its equivalent, on a 4.0 scale in the courses required by s. 1002.3105(5) or s. 1003.4282. At a minimum, the contract must require that the student attend summer school, or its graded equivalent, between grades 9 and 10 or grades 10 and 11, as necessary.
3. Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the courses required by s. 1002.3105(5) or s. 1003.4282 during his or her junior or senior year.
4. Maintain satisfactory conduct, including adherence to appropriate dress and other codes of student conduct policies described in s. 1006.07(2). If a student is convicted of, or is found to have committed, a felony or a delinquent act that would have been a felony if committed by an adult, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld, the student’s participation in interscholastic extracurricular activities is contingent upon established and published district school board policy.
(b) Any student who is exempt from attending a full school day based on rules adopted by the district school board for double session schools or programs, experimental schools, or schools operating under emergency conditions must maintain the grade point average required by this section and pass each class for which he or she is enrolled.
(c) A home education student must meet the requirements of the home education program pursuant to s. 1002.41.
1. During the period of participation at a school, the home education student must demonstrate educational progress as required in paragraph (b) in all subjects taken in the home education program by a method of evaluation agreed upon by the parent and the school principal, which evaluation may include review of the student’s work by a certified teacher chosen by the parent; grades earned through correspondence; grades earned in courses taken at a Florida College System institution, state university, or district career center; standardized test scores above the 35th percentile; or any other method designated in s. 1002.41.
2. The home education student must meet the same standards of acceptance, behavior, and performance as required of other students in extracurricular activities.
3. A student who transfers from a home education program to a public school before or during the first grading period of the school year is academically eligible to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities during the first grading period, provided the student has a successful evaluation from the previous school year pursuant to subparagraph 1.
(d) A student is eligible to participate in an interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity at the school in which he or she is enrolled.
(e) An eligible student may participate in an interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity at a school other than the school in which the student is enrolled if:
1. The school in which the student is enrolled does not offer the same interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity or the student is in a home education program; and
2. The school at which the student will participate in the interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity is located in the school district in which the student resides.
(f) If no public or charter schools in the district in which the student resides offer the interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity, and an agreement cannot be reached with a private school in the district in which the student resides, the student may participate at a public, charter, or private school that is appropriate for the student’s grade level located outside of his or her school district. The school at which the student participates pursuant to this paragraph must be in a school district adjacent to the school district in which the student resides.
(g) If a student has exhausted all options outlined above for participation in an interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity, the student may petition the executive director of the applicable governing organization to explore options for participation at a school not otherwise authorized by this section.
(h) For purposes of this subsection, any participation by an eligible student at a private school other than the school in which the student is enrolled must be pursuant to an agreement between the private school and the student.
(5) BEGINNING APPLICABILITY.—The student standards for participation in interscholastic extracurricular activities must be applied beginning with the student’s first semester of the 9th grade. Each student must meet such other requirements for participation as may be established by the district school board; however, a district school board may not establish requirements for participation in interscholastic extracurricular activities which make participation in such activities less accessible to home education students than to other students.
(a) Shall permit home education associations to join as member schools.
(b) May not discriminate against any eligible student based on an educational choice of public, private, or home education.
(c) Must adopt, maintain, and enforce sport-specific manuals or handbooks that govern interscholastic competition, which must comply with the requirements of s. 1006.20(2)(o).
(7) PROHIBITED MEMBERSHIPS.—Public schools are prohibited from membership in any governing organization that discriminates against eligible students in public, private, or home education.
(8) INSURANCE.—Any insurance provided by district school boards for participants in extracurricular activities must cover any eligible student.
(9) SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES.—
(a) The athletic director or other appropriate administrator of each school shall maintain the records necessary for eligibility, compliance, and participation for all eligible students participating in interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activities at the school.
(b) Any school that has a student who is seeking to participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activities at another school must make all records related to that student, including, but not limited to, academic, financial, disciplinary, and attendance records, available upon request of the governing organization.
(c)1. Each public school may assess an activity fee to an enrolled student. Each public school may assess an activity fee to a student who is not enrolled but is eligible to participate pursuant to this section, provided that such fee does not exceed the greater of the following:
a. The fee students enrolled at the school pay to participate in the activity; or
b. A reasonable fee based on the costs to the school, not to exceed $400 per activity.
2. Annually by July 1, activity fees developed pursuant to sub-subparagraph 1.b. must be approved by the district school board or charter school governing board, as appropriate, after being voted on as an action item. Each public school must publish a complete list of fees developed under this paragraph, by activity, on its website before the beginning of each school year.
3. Each school district and charter school shall annually report to the Department of Education all fees assessed pursuant to this paragraph.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c), a home education student, pursuant to s. 1002.41, or a public school student participating at a public school at which he or she is not enrolled may only be assessed the fee paid by students enrolled at the school to participate in the activity.
(e) The parents of the student participating in the interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activity must provide for the transportation of the student to and from the school at which the student participates. The school in which the student is enrolled, the school at which the student participates in the extracurricular activity, and the district school board are exempt from civil liability arising from any injury that occurs to the student during such transportation.
(10) STUDENT TRANSFERS.—
(a) A student may not participate in sports at two different schools during the same school year, unless the student:
1. Is a dependent child of active duty military personnel whose move resulted from military orders;
2. Has been relocated due to a foster care placement in a different school zone;
3. Has moved due to a court-ordered change in custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or death of a custodial parent; or
4. Has been granted approval by the applicable governing organization’s executive director.
(b) The governing organization must provide a determination of eligibility to the requesting student within 14 days after such a request is made.
(c) The governing organization shall adopt bylaws establishing criteria for determining eligibility of students pursuant to this section and an appeals procedure equivalent to the appeals procedure set forth in s. 1006.20(7).
(11) APPLICABILITY.—Any organization that conducts a school-related or school support-related function or activity is subject to the requirements of this section.
(12) BYLAWS.—The governing organization may adopt additional bylaws to implement this section.
History.—s. 288, ch. 2002-387; s. 1, ch. 2008-228; s. 17, ch. 2011-3; s. 75, ch. 2011-5; s. 2, ch. 2011-103; s. 1, ch. 2011-117; s. 9, ch. 2012-192; s. 52, ch. 2013-35; s. 182, ch. 2014-17; s. 59, ch. 2014-39; s. 22, ch. 2016-237; s. 1, ch. 2017-186; s. 26, ch. 2018-6; s. 3, ch. 2023-97; s. 3, ch. 2023-113; s. 1, ch. 2025-52; s. 5, ch. 2025-106; s. 2, ch. 2026-93.
