(a) A student who participates in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H must be credited as present by the school in which the student is enrolled in the same manner as an educational field trip. Notwithstanding § 49-6-3022, a school principal, or the principal’s designee, shall not count a student absent for participating in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H.(b) Upon request from a school principal, or the principal’s designee, a 4-H agent shall provide documentation as proof of a student’s participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H.(c) A student must have the opportunity to make up any school work missed while the student was participating in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H, and shall not have the student’s class grades adversely affected for lack of attendance or participation due to the student’s participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H.(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a school principal, or the principal’s designee, shall not credit a student who participates in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H as present if the student’s participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H occurs during:
(1) The schedule established by the commissioner of education for the administration of the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests; or(2) Any period of time for which the student has been suspended, expelled, or assigned to an alternative school or alternative program under part 34 of this chapter if the student’s suspension, expulsion, or assignment to an alternative school or alternative program would otherwise preclude the student from participating in an educational field trip.
