Scheduling Pep Band Activities at School Athletic Events
Idaho Music Education Association, a state affiliate of NAfME: National Association for Music Education

• Bands shall not be required to perform for more than 15 pre-season and regular season events per year, inclusive of boys’ and girls’ events. 
• Bands shall not be required to play for more than two events a week; where music and athletic events conflict, the music event will take precedence. 
• Bands shall not be required to perform at events where students or equipment could be in physical danger.  This includes outside events during adverse weather conditions and volleyball matches that pose serious injury and safety issues during warm-up drills. 
• Scheduling of performances at athletic events shall be done with respect for the student’s academic well being, and also in deference to festivals, concerts, and assessments which are outgrowths of curricular study in the music classroom, or such things as semester/trimester testing in other academic areas. 
• Bands shall not be required to perform for athletic events during holiday vacations or educator in-service weekends. 
• The use of bands to play for tournament games during week-day afternoons and evenings shall be evaluated with regard to:
  • a) loss of school time for students,
  • b) cost,
  • c) weather conditions, and
  • d) loss of instructional time to other classes taught by the pep band director. 
• Bands shall not be required to travel for Saturday morning tournament games. 
• Bands shall not be required to play for athletic events in which the home school is not a participant. 
• Bands shall not be required to play with less than adequate personnel to fill all necessary music requirements.  As the music professional in the school, the band director should make this decision in collaboration with the school administrator.
• Funding for pep bands shall be the responsibility of the school district or the athletic department budgets, rather than diverting funds from the curricular music budget or requiring students to assume financial responsibility for pep band costs.

July 16, 2012.