06/01/2023
Speaking to Superintendent of Salado ISD, a 4A school that has allowed non-enrolled students to participate in UIL activities for two years now, I was able to get some inside view into how this process works.
Salado has nothing but positive input on how this has affected their district, students, and community.
Their first year after this was passed, they had three students. One from middle school, and two from high school, that participated in track, soccer, and cross country. One of the high school students was their fastest runner, allowing them to have great success in the season.
This year they had five non-enrolled students, two from middle school, and three from high school. They also competed in track, cross country, and soccer, in addition to academic UIL teams. said academic UIL teams in question were able to advance to the state level of the competition, allowing for those on the team to qualify for Texas Interscholastic League Foundation (TILF) Scholarships.
It was also made clear to me the types of qualification these students would need.
All students would need to:
1. Show proof of residence within the school district
2. Try out for any team he/she is interested in
3. Remain academically eligible
3a. for the first six-weeks, the student would need to submit his/her last approved standardized test scores
3b. for every six weeks after the first, the students' instructor would have to submit their grades to the school in order for them to remain academically eligible
Also pointed out to me was the fact that even though their students do not attend public schools, they still have to pay taxes to the public school system.
These students' success have greatly benefited Salado's school district as a whole, as well as encouraged the enrolled students through teamwork and dedication.
