Private School Students Face New $400 Fee to Play on Polk County Public School Teams
Private school students who want to join a Polk County Public Schools athletic team will face a new fee starting July 1.
PCPS announced this month that any private school student participating in district sports through a PCPS school team or athletics program will be charged $400 per student, per sport or activity. The change follows the passage of Florida SB 538 and was adopted by the Polk County School Board.
The fee applies only to private school students. Charter school and homeschool students are not affected.
Under state law, private school students may participate in district sports that their own school does not offer. The $400 cap per activity is the maximum districts are allowed to charge under the new statute. Revenue from the fees goes directly back to PCPS schools to offset costs including transportation, uniforms, equipment, field and court maintenance, and game management.
Families can pay by check or money order, made payable to the School Board of Polk County and mailed to PCPS Athletics, 3425 New Jersey Road, Lakeland, FL 33803. Online credit card payments are also accepted through GoFan, with separate links for high school and middle school students available at polkschoolsfl.com/schoolsandprograms/athletics.
Regardless of school type, all student athletes must complete FHSAA eligibility requirements before participating, including an annual physical evaluation and a signed consent and release form. Both forms are available only through each school’s athletic director and must be submitted directly to that office before any practice, tryout, or conditioning activity begins.
PCPS frames its athletics program around six guiding principles, including treating student welfare as the top priority, conducting programs under the same administrative oversight as academic programs, and ensuring coaches hold adequate training. The district considers participation in interscholastic athletics a privilege, not a right, contingent on meeting academic performance and personal behavior standards.
Sources: Polk County Public Schools, polkschoolsfl.com/news/new_athletics_fees_take_effect_july1; polkschoolsfl.com/schoolsandprograms/athletics
