SECTIONS 35179-35179.7 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 35179-35179.7

35179. (a) Each school district governing board shall have general
control of, and be responsible for, all aspects of the
interscholastic athletic policies, programs, and activities in its
district, including, but not limited to, eligibility, season of
sport, number of sports, personnel, and sports facilities. In
addition, the board shall ensure that all interscholastic policies,
programs, and activities in its district are in compliance with state
and federal law.
(b) Governing boards may enter into associations or consortia with
other boards for the purpose of governing regional or statewide
interscholastic athletic programs by permitting the public schools
under their jurisdictions to enter into a voluntary association with
other schools for the purpose of enacting and enforcing rules
relating to eligibility for, and participation in, interscholastic
athletic programs among and between schools.
(c) Each governing board, or its designee, shall represent the
individual schools located within its jurisdiction in any voluntary
association of schools formed or maintained pursuant to this section.
(d) No voluntary interscholastic athletic association, of which
any public school is a member, shall discriminate against, or deny
the benefits of any program to, any person on any basis prohibited by
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no voluntary
interscholastic athletic association shall deny a school from
participating in interscholastic athletic activities because of the
religious tenets of the school, regardless of whether that school is
directly controlled by a religious organization.
(f) Interscholastic athletics is defined as those policies,
programs, and activities that are formulated or executed in
conjunction with, or in contemplation of, athletic contests between
two or more schools, either public or private.

35179.1. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the
1998 California High School Coaching Education and Training Program.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The exploding demand in girls athletics, and an increase in
the number of pupils participating in both boys and girls athletics,
are causing an increase in the number of coaches needed statewide.
(2) Well-trained coaches are vital to the success of the
experience of a pupil in sports and interscholastic athletic
activities.
(3) Improvement in coaching is a primary need identified by
hundreds of principals, superintendents, and school board members who
participated in the development of a strategic plan for the
California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in 1993 and 1994.
(4) There are many concerns about safety, training, organization,
philosophy, communications, and general management in coaching that
need to be addressed.
(5) It is a conservative estimate that at least 25,000 coaches
annually need training and an orientation just to meet current
coaching regulations contained in Title 5 of the California Code of
Regulations, including basic safety and CPR requirements.
(6) School districts, in conjunction with the California
Interscholastic Federation, have taken the initial first steps toward
building a statewide coaching education program by assembling a
faculty of statewide trainers composed of school district
administrators, coaches, and athletic directors using a national
program being used in several states.
(c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to establish a
California High School Coaching Education and Training Program. It
is the intent of the Legislature that the program be administered by
local school districts and emphasize the following components:
(1) Development of coaching philosophies consistent with school,
school district, and school board goals.
(2) Sport psychology: emphasizing communication, reinforcement of
the efforts of young people, effective delivery of coaching regarding
technique and motivation of the pupil athlete.
(3) Sport pedagogy: how young athletes learn, and how to teach
sport skills.
(4) Sport physiology: principles of training, fitness for sport,
development of a training program, nutrition for athletes, and the
harmful effects associated with the use of steroids and
performance-enhancing dietary supplements by adolescents.
(5) Sport management: team management, risk management, and
working within the context of an entire school program.
(6) Training: certification in CPR and first aid.
(7) Knowledge of, and adherence to, statewide rules and
regulations, as well as school regulations including, but not
necessarily limited to, eligibility, gender equity and
discrimination.
(8) Sound planning and goal setting.
(d) This section does not endorse a particular coaching education
or training program.

35179.2. (a) Subject to funds being appropriated for this purpose
in the annual Budget Act, the California Interscholastic Federation
is encouraged to establish a statewide panel that includes, at a
minimum, the following members: school administrators, school board
members, coaches of secondary school athletics, teachers, parents,
athletic directors, representatives of higher education, pupils
participating in athletics at the secondary school level, and a
representative of the State Department of Education, as described in
Section 35179.3.
(b) The panel established pursuant to subdivision (a) is
encouraged to develop an application process whereby public secondary
schools may submit applications to the State Department of Education
for grants to offset the costs of education and training of athletic
coaches in an education and training program that emphasizes the
components set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 35179.1.
(c) The panel established pursuant to subdivision (a) is
encouraged to evaluate applications submitted to the State Department
of Education pursuant to subdivision (b) and to recommend applicants
to the State Department of Education for the award of
dollar-for-dollar matching grants, in an amount determined by the
department.

35179.3. If the California Interscholastic Federation establishes a
statewide panel pursuant to Section 35179.2, the State Department of
Education shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide a department representative to assist the panel in
developing an application and grant distribution process.
(b) Review recommendations submitted by the panel for the award of
dollar-for-dollar matching grants to public secondary school
applicants.
(c) Determine which public secondary school applicants will
receive dollar-for-dollar matching grants.
(d) Determine the amount of the grants.

35179.7. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and
regulations establishing standards of ethical conduct applicable to
each temporary, probationary, or permanent employee of a school
district providing supervision and instruction in interscholastic
athletic programs and activities. These standards shall include, at a
minimum, rules and regulations prohibiting these employees from
exerting undue influence in a pupil's decision to enroll in an
athletic program at any public or private postsecondary educational
institution, or from otherwise influencing a pupil's decision to
enroll in an athletic program for his or her personal gain.