The ESL department knows that when students participate in sports, it allows them to feel even more connected to their school and community. It is important for athletic directors and coaches to consider the following for current and potential multilingual students participating in sports:

1. Meaningful Access:
According to the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice’s EL DCL Fact Sheet: Ensuring English Learner Students Can Participate Meaningfully and Equally in Educational Programs, school must be Providing Meaningful Access to All Curricular and Extracurricular Programs:
EL students are entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in all programs, including pre-kindergarten, magnet, gifted and talented, career and technical education, arts, and athletics programs; Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses; clubs; and honor societies.

2. Translated Information:
According to the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice’s English LEP Parent Fact Sheet: Information for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Parents and Guardians and for Schools and School Districts that Communicate with Them, Schools must communicate information to limited English proficient parents in a language they can understand about any program, service, or activity that is called to the attention of parents who are proficient in English.

• Sports Schedule - provide the student and family with a translated copy of the IHSAA schedule of the specific sport, including pre-practice, conditioning, practice schedule and game schedule. (Not all sports listed on the IHSAA schedule are available at every EVSC High School.)

• The Athletic Director/Coach needs to have a conditioning schedule for each sport available for public view. This allows teachers and counselors to assist students prepare for their sport. (Most EL families are not familiar with American high school sports protocols.)

• Sports Physical - EL families are often not familiar with the concept of required sports physicals. Remind families that they can be completed with their family doctor or Deaconess Urgent Care offers them for around $30 cash (many of our families don’t have insurance).
In the spring, Pro Rehab offers a High School Sports Physical Day at each school, this year the date is April 15, 2023. Parents are asked to fill out the emergency contact information and some sports will require a concussion and sudden cardiac arrest form.

• Equipment/What is Needed and Fees (to be filled by coaches/ AD) - for most sports, students will need shoes for the specific sport and the rest of the equipment should be issued from the school. Tell families what IS provided for their student, and what the family will need to provide. If you suspect a student cannot pay for equipment, please reach out to the school’s athletic director.

• Fees - Often Multilingual Learners are our same students who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch and cannot afford fees associated with sports. If you suspect a student cannot pay, please reach out to the school’s athletic director.

• Parents/Guardians Consent (Spanish) and Code of Conduct - The parent/s or Guardian/s shall give written consent , for such participation, shall acknowledge the risks of athletic participation and shall release and hold harmless the IHSAA and all member Schools from liability, unless the student is emancipated and then the Emancipated Student shall consent, acknowledge, and release and hold harmless, using the current IHSAA Consent, Acknowledgement and Release form.

3. Transcripts/IHSAA
If an athletic director is examining a foreign transcript to determine athletic eligibility for a newcomer, please reach out to the ESL department with assistance in translating and interpreting the meaning of information. Many countries grade differently than the U.S. and all information must be considered before a determination decision would be made.

Points of Contact:
Pierre Tsianguebeni, Bosse
Email

Katrina Costeur, Central and Reitz
Email

Kathryn Roache, Harrison
Email

Emma Koester, North
Email

Rachel Koester (& Building ESL Teacher), Foreign Transcripts
Email