CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Students who have fallen behind academically during the coronavirus pandemic will be allowed time to bring up their grades so they can participate in extracurricular activities under a limited waiver now in effect.
Clayton Burch, West Virginia superintendent of schools, announced the temporary change during Wednesday’s meeting of the state Board of Education.
Current policy dictates extracurricular eligibility is “determined for each semester by the student’s GPA the previous semester (or, in schools which do not use the traditional semester approach, during the previous 18 week period).”
Students without at least a 2.0 GPA are ineligible to participate in extracurricular activities with evaluations allowed only at nine-week marks.
Under the revised policy, fall semester grades won’t prohibit any students from participating fully through March 19, 2021.
At that point, grade reviews will happen and, going forward, the 2.0 GPA requirement for extracurricular activities will again be in effect.
“The goal of this limited waiver is to not diminish the importance of academic achievement, but rather to support it,” Burch said.
“During this limited waiver period, students will have the opportunity to re-establish eligibility by reconnecting with teachers, coaches, counselors and their peers.”
March 19 falls about two months after most students returned to classrooms in West Virginia’s schools for some form of in-person instruction.
“Every student needs that one caring adult to succeed and this limited waiver will provide flexibility and time to ensure the necessary academic and social supports are in place to form the connections needed for student success,” Burch said.
The change did not require approval from the state Board of Education.
Last October, Burch was authorized to approve policy waivers for the 2020-2021 school year resulting from COVID-19 school closures.
Debra Sullivan, a member of the state Board of Education, welcomed the change.
“I’m delighted. The boost that this will give to some many students’ morale is just remarkable,” Sullivan said.
Miller Hall, BOE president, agreed.
“We’re letting these young people know that you have to work at what you get. There’s no easy way out,” Hall said.
Next week is when practices for winter school sports — basketball, wrestling and swimming — are permitted to begin again for season starts in March after pandemic delays.
Also on Wednesday, members of the BOE voted to reject earlier requests from school officials in Berkeley County and Monongalia County for exemptions to a state mandate requiring at least some in-person instruction in county classrooms.
Both county school systems, like the other 53 in West Virginia, previously implemented instructional schedules to comply with the mandate.
Board members were told school officials in Monongalia County had asked for the formal BOE vote.