Meeting: 08/28/2026 - 11:30 AM Special Board Meeting Board Meeting
Location: Central Office Board Room
The Maquoketa Community School District Board is scheduled for a special meeting focused on an eighth-grade athletic participation policy and related handbook updates. The packet also includes approval of the meeting agenda on the consent agenda.
Key Items on the Agenda
Eighth-Grade Athletic Policy
The Board is scheduled to consider the second reading of Policy 504.06: Student Activity Program, Eligibility Requirements, and Participation in Non-School Activities. Superintendent Notz and Activities Director Larson are identified in the packet as facilitating discussion and questions about the policy.
Superintendent Notz recommends approving the second reading, waiving the third reading, and adopting the policy with optional language addressing eighth-grade participation in high school athletics.
Under the proposed optional language:
- An eighth-grade student could participate in high school interscholastic athletic contests or competitions with permission from a parent or guardian.
- An eighth-grade student participating at the high school level could not also participate on an eighth-grade team in the same sport during the same season.
- Students could not compete in both the eighth-grade and high school programs during the same sport season.
- Eighth-grade students participating in high school athletics would have to meet the annual athletic physical examination requirements applicable to student athletes.
- The superintendent, working with the athletic director, would develop administrative regulations and procedures for implementing the policy.
The packet presents this language as a proposed addition; it does not document adoption as an already-completed action.
Handbook Updates
The Board is also scheduled to consider amendments to three district handbooks. Superintendent Notz recommends approving the amendments as presented.
The packet identifies the proposed updates as:
- Athletic Handbook: Addition of the district's process for eighth-grade athletics.
- Middle School Handbook: Adjustments to bell schedules, with the affected schedules highlighted.
- High School Handbook: Adjustments to bell schedules. The packet notes that a highlighted box shows the previous schedule and that page 6 contains the new schedule.
The Athletic Handbook change is related to the eighth-grade athletic participation issue also addressed through Policy 504.06.
Consent Agenda
The packet recommends approval of the consent agenda as presented. The listed consent item is:
- Approval of Agenda: Approve the agenda as presented.
Because this is a pre-meeting packet, these are proposed actions rather than documented meeting outcomes.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The central policy question is whether the Board will advance and adopt the proposed changes to Policy 504.06 while waiving a third reading. The optional language would establish specific conditions under which eighth-grade students could compete at the high school level.
The Board is also expected to consider corresponding handbook changes, including the district process for eighth-grade athletics and revised bell schedules for the middle school and high school.
The official public-body source used for this packet is the Maquoketa Community School District meeting material provided through Simbli.
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials.
