(1) DEFINITIONS.

(a) Bona fide survey – survey approved by the department which measures the
interest of eligible students at a school to field a team in a particular athletic activity or
sport and which complies with generally accepted opinion survey principles regarding
neutral wording. Eligible students are those students reasonably anticipated to be
enrolled at a school at the time an additional sport may be offered. The Athletic Interest
Survey in Appendix A shall be considered a bona fide survey.

(b) Interscholastic athletics – any athletic activity or sport that involves competition
between teams representing two or more schools.

(c) Intramural athletics – any athletic activity or sport that involves competition
between teams in the same school.

(d) Participant – a member on the official roster of an interscholastic or intramural
activity or sport who participated in team practices and was eligible for participation.

(e) Scholarship sport – an athletic activity or sport for which an institution in the
University System of Georgia offers a full or partial scholarship, based on athletic ability.

(f) Sports equity coordinator – individual designated by the local school system
pursuant to O.C.G.A.§ 20-2-315(h).

(2) REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Gender Equity Policy. Local boards of education shall adopt a policy or policies
to ensure that no student shall, on the basis of gender, be excluded from participation in,
be denied the benefits of, be treated differently from another student, or otherwise be
discriminated against in any interscholastic or intramural athletics offered by such local
school system, and such local school system shall not provide any such athletics
separately on such basis. A sample gender equity policy is included in the Gender Equity
in Sports Resource Manual.

1. The policy shall include a procedure for accepting or rejecting all donations of
services or items, including booster club support, to any athletic program.

2. Local boards of education shall annually notify its students of such policy. A
sample notice is included in the Gender Equity in Sports Resource Manual.

(b) Interest Survey for Intramural and Interscholastic Activities.

1. A local school system that elects to conduct a bona fide survey, in accordance with
O.C.G.A.§ 20-2-315(f)(3), shall utilize the Athletic Interest Survey in accordance with
instructions in Appendix A or shall submit an alternate survey to the department for
approval.

(i) If a local school system elects to submit an alternate survey for approval, it shall
submit such survey at least 60 days prior to the date it intends to conduct the survey and
shall provide the name and phone number of the individual who is available to respond to
questions pertaining to such survey.

(ii) The results of this survey shall be valid for 24 months, unless a new bona fide
survey is conducted within the 24 month period. A local school system shall conduct a
bona fide survey at the request of nine students at the school, but no more frequently than
once every 12 months. However, if a local board of education has a policy against
offering interscholastic or intramural sports in certain grades for members of both
genders, the local school system shall not be required to conduct an interest survey in
those grades.

2. A local school system shall tally by gender the results of a bona fide survey to
determine potential interest in various sports. A sample tally sheet is included in the
Gender Equity in Sports Resource Manual.

(c) Informational Meeting. A local school system shall conduct an informational
meeting if the results of the bona fide survey indicate enough potential interest in a
specific sport to field a team, as determined by the local school system. The
informational meeting shall be conducted so as to provide information to parents and
students specific to such sport, such as length and dates of season, time required for
practices and competitions, travel time to competitions, possible costs to participants, and
other pertinent topics, as well as to provide feedback information to the school to gauge
actual interest in such sport.

(d) Use of Results of Interest Survey and Informational Meeting.

1. Based on the results of the bona fide survey and the informational meeting, the local
school system shall determine whether there is sufficient interest to field a team in a
particular sport.

2. A local school system shall not be required to field a team at a school in a particular
athletic activity or sport if:

(i) there is insufficient interest at that school to support intramural teams; or

(ii) there is insufficient interest at that school to support an interscholastic team; or

(iii) there are no interscholastic teams participating in such sport with which to
compete.

3. A local school system shall sponsor an interscholastic team in a scholarship sport at
a particular school if such school currently sponsors an athletic activity or sport that is
similar to the scholarship sport, unless there is insufficient interest.

4. A local school system shall field a team in a particular athletic activity or sport at a
school where there is sufficient interest for such a team if equal opportunities for
participation in that school are not available to both genders in interscholastic or
intramural athletic activities or sports based on factors listed in O.C.G.A.§ 20-2-315(c)
and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

(i) If there is sufficient interest at a particular school to field teams in multiple sports
for one gender, the local school system shall only be required to field such teams at that
school which would ensure equal opportunities for participation at that school by each
gender based on factors listed in O.C.G.A.§ 20-2-315(c) and Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972.

(e) Compliance Report.

1. Each local school system shall complete a School System Compliance Report on
Gender Equity in Sports as included in the Gender Equity in Sports Resource Manual for
the previous academic year regarding its compliance with O.C.G.A. § 20-2-315. Local
school systems shall refer to the Gender Equity in Sports Resource Manual for guidance
on completing the report.

2. Each local school system shall submit such report to the department by August 30 of
each year.

3. If a school system does not submit the compliance reports in accordance with this
section, the department’s report to the General Assembly shall reflect that such system
did not adhere to reporting requirements in this rule.

(f) Records Retention. Local school systems shall maintain all records related to
compliance with this rule and O.C.G.A. § 20-2-315, including surveys, tally sheets, and
complaints in accordance with state and local records retention schedules, but in no event
less than five (5) years from the date of such record.

(g) Appeals to State Board of Education. All appeals to the State Board of
Education regarding compliance of a local school system with O.C.G.A. § 20-2-315 shall
be conducted in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 20-2-315 and O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1160.

Click on the Link below for Athletic Interest Survey

Appendix A