504.2 Secondary School Student Organizations (Limited Open Forum)

No student organization shall exist that 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 curriculum-related organizations and non-curriculum related organizations are encouraged. Upon receiving permission from the principal, such organizations 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 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 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 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?
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Secondary school curriculum-related student organizations may use District facilities for meetings and other purposes during non-instructional time. Employees are assigned to monitor approved meetings and may interact with curriculum-related organizations.

Non-Curriculum-Related Organizations

Student-initiated, non-curriculum-related organizations are provided access to meeting space and District facilities.

Only students may attend and participate in meetings of non-curriculum-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.

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