Sharyland ISD reprimanded over band practice, still on track for state competition

The UIL Area G Executive Committee voted Tuesday to reprimand Sharyland High School and Sharyland Pioneer’s marching bands over a practice rules violation, though both schools are still slated to compete at the state level Monday.

 

 

According to Ruben Adame, UIL Area G Executive Secretary, Brownsville’s Porter Early College High School lodged a complaint about Sharyland, claiming the district’s students had violated the Texas Administrative Code in a practice.

 

The Texas Administrative Code stipulates that students can’t miss classes to practice for extracurricular events.

 

“They excused students from the school day to go and practice in Mercedes,” Adame said. “And unfortunately, what that entailed was kids being excused from core classes to go and practice for the event — which clearly isn’t allowed per the Texas Administrative Code.”

 

Sharyland’s superintendent and Porter’s principal plead their cases before the Region 15 UIL Executive Committee in front of an overflow online audience Tuesday.

 

Sharyland acknowledged its error, but pointed toward ambiguity in the rules.

 

 

According to Adame, the committee had three options: it could do nothing, it could reprimand Sharyland or it could bump the matter up for consideration by state UIL leadership.

 

The committee chose to reprimand Sharyland, which won’t affect the district’s eligibility for next week’s competition.

 

The district says it’s taken the rules violation seriously.

 

“Upon learning of concerns raised by a neighboring district, we immediately launched a thorough internal review of our band practice schedules and district procedures,” a statement said. “Sharyland ISD will continue cooperating with UIL and TEA regulations throughout this process, ensuring our commitment to transparency and accountability.”

 

Porter’s principal, Mary Solis, indicated during Tuesday’s meeting that she didn’t feel the committee had taken strong enough action.

 

 

Solis said she planned to ask UIL for an emergency meeting to discuss the rules violation.

 

Solis couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, and no meeting appeared to have materialized at the state level so far.

 

“UIL is aware of alleged rule violations involving the Sharyland and Brownsville high school marching band programs,” a UIL spokesperson said in a statement. “These cases were heard at the local level by the Area Executive Committee (AEC), which issued penalties deemed appropriate based on the presented facts and testimony. For additional information, please contact the AEC or the respective schools.”