DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Before your student takes the field with the school marching band, the University Interscholastic League wants to make sure they are healthy enough to participate.
A new UIL rule requires physical exams or medical histories for public school students participating in marching band.
The rule takes effect Aug. 1. Students entering their first or third year in high school must have a physical. Those who are going into their second or fourth year of high school are required to submit a completed medical history signed by the student and a parent or guardian.
Marching band students in the seventh and eighth grades are also required to have physicals.
Some individual school districts already require physical exams for students in marching band.
As many schools conduct marching band practice during a portion of the hot summer months, the UIL approved the new rule in the interest of student health and safety.