Off-Campus Health Fitness

To maintain compliance with state law, Spring Branch ISD offers substitution for Health Fitness classes. The following information contains the policy, procedure and application for this substitution process. Take time to read over each area and follow the directions in completing the application.

Applications

Online facility and student applications for the 2026-2027 school year are open.

2026-2027 OCHF FACILITY APPLICATION

2026-2027 OCHF Student application

Students/parents must complete the online application and submit it for approval before the first day of school for the upcoming school year. Changes and submissions may be made until August 30, 2026.

2026-2027 Approved OCHF Facilities

If you are having trouble accessing the online application, please contact the Assistant Director of Health Fitness, Pamela Thompson at pamela.thompson@springbranchisd.com for assistance.

Please note

Students cannot switch from OCHF to a Health Fitness class and then back to OCHF. For example, if a student starts the semester in OCHF, tries out for basketball and makes the team but once basketball is over that student will not be able to return to OCHF.

Students participating in Off Campus Health Fitness may only register with one approved facility/trainer at a time.

Students can only participate in Off Campus Health Fitness if their training site is on the approved Off Campus Health Fitness Facility List.

Students may not be concurrently enrolled in a Health Fitness class and Off Campus Health Fitness.

Students must participate at the approved facility for the entire semester or transfer into a general Health Fitness Class to receive credit for Health Fitness. Students who drop out of OCHF will receive a grade of “fail.”

Off Campus Health Fitness is only offered to students who participate in an activity that is not offered at their middle or high school:

Archery
Competitive Dance
Cycling
Diving (Middle School Only)
Equestrian
Fencing
Golf (Middle School Only)
Gymnastics
Ice Hockey
Ice Skating
Judo, Karate, Taekwondo
Rowing (Middle School Only)
Sailing
Swimming (Middle School Only)
Tennis
Water Polo (Middle School Only)

Category 1

Private or commercially sponsored physical activity programs that lead to Olympic-level participation and/or competition. These programs typically involve a minimum of 15 hours per week of highly intense, professionally supervised training. The training facility, instructors, and the activities involved in the program must be certified by the Superintendent or his/her designee to be of exceptional quality.
Students qualifying and participating at this level may be dismissed from school one period per day for such participation. Students dismissed must not be permitted to miss any academic class (other than health fitness). Students should not be assigned another core or elective class to fill out a regular day in lieu of leaving campus for OCHF. The OCHF students should leave the campus one period prior to the end of the day or not check in to school until the second period of the day. Students who discontinue OCHF Category 1 during a semester will be enrolled in a regular health fitness class for the remainder of the semester to complete the credit in health fitness for that semester.
It is anticipated that only a very limited number of students will qualify for this exceptional level of participation.
Category 1 is available for high school and middle school students. The credits being earned for graduation requirements are to be taken during the students' high school enrollment period.
Students participating at this level may receive a maximum of one-half credit per semester. A total of four credits may be earned toward state high school graduation requirements.

Category 2

Private or commercially sponsored physical activity programs as certified by the Superintendent or his/her designee to be of high quality, well supervised by appropriately trained instructors, and consisting of a minimum of five hours per school week.
Students participating at this level may receive a maximum of one-half credit per semester. A total of four credits may be earned toward state high school graduation requirements.
Students certified to participate at this level may not be dismissed from any part of the regular school day.
Category 2 is available for high school and middle school students. The credits being earned for graduation requirements are to be taken during the students' high school enrollment period.

District procedures for the 2026 - 2027 school year

Students involved in SBISD Athletics cannot be enrolled in the off-campus Health Fitness program UIL rules specifically prohibit students from being enrolled in more than one physical education and/or athletic class.

The parent will provide transportation either to school for late arrival or for early release for Category 1 students. There will be no supervised areas for these students to stay on campus for the unassigned class period.

The Health Fitness Department is responsible for receiving and maintaining attendance and grades from the participating facilities. Grades and attendance will be submitted using the Student Attendance and Grade Form. If a grade is not submitted for any grading period, a “no grade” (NG) will be assigned to the student. The Health Fitness Department will then contact the parent/and or facility concerning their responsibility of submitting grades.

The parent and/or student must agree to:

It is the responsibility of the student/parent to notify the Health Fitness Office if there is a change in the student’s program and/or schedule, if the student has withdrawn from the facility, or if the student has changed facilities.

The facility and/or private organization must agree to:

Submit application and fee of $100.00.
Notify the Health Fitness department at pamela.thompson@springbranchisd.com immediately if the student drops out the OCHF program or changes training facilities.
Report the student’s grade and attendance to Pamela Thompson by the assigned due date.
Notify the Health Fitness department immediately if the organization moves or goes out of business.
Notify the Health Fitness department if a new trainer is added or removed from your facility.

Failure to comply will result in removal of the facility from the approved OCHF facilities list.

Facility responsibilities
Student/Parent responsibilities

Facility responsibilities

The parent is responsible for adhering to the following requirements:

I agree to ensure that all students in Grades 6-12 will be proficient in the grade level specific TEKS for Physical Education.
Agree to submit a training schedule for each student and update the OCHF department if there are any changes.
Notify the Off-Campus department if a student’s grade is in jeopardy.
I agree to keep updated weekly attendance sheets for each Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD) students participating in the program.
I agree to submit the training schedule for each SBISD student and update the Off-Campus Health Fitness Department (OCHF) if there are any changes. Students are expected to adhere to the training schedule. Student training hours must occur between Monday through Friday of each week.
I agree to turn in grades and attendance to the parents by the required due date each nine weeks.
I agree to notify Spring Branch Off-Campus Health Fitness department immediately if a student drops or is removed from the facility, if a student has not fulfilled their 5 or 15-hour requirement, or if there is an injury or illness which affects their attendance and participation.
Facilities must provide clean, safe environments that provide exemplary supervision of the student and/or athlete.
The Off-Campus Health Fitness Department designee will perform unannounced site visits.
I agree to provide professional supervision at all trainings. Training does not include games, performances, competitions, tournaments, or travel time.

Student/Parent responsibilities

The parent is responsible for adhering to the following requirements:

Understanding that Spring Branch ISD does not require fingerprint checks on the off-campus facility trainer(s).
Using the grade and attendance form to obtain the respective grade and attendance each nine weeks.
Providing transportation to and from the training facility will be the sole responsibility of the student or the student’s parent/guardian.
Notify the counselor and Assistant Director of Health Fitness, Pamela Thompson, of any changes in the student’s schedule.
Notify the counselor and Assistant Director of Health Fitness, Pamela Thompson, if the students’ attendance becomes irregular or if the student withdraws from the program.
Students may only participate with one facility/trainer at a time. Summer activities will not be counted to meet health fitness requirements.
Training hours do not include games performances, competitions, tournaments, or travel time.
Students may not be enrolled in health fitness class and the Off-Campus Health Fitness program at the same time.
Student training hours must occur between Monday through Friday of each week.
The OCHF department may remove instructors or facilities from the approved list and the OCHF program for non-compliance with the terms of this document.

**Off Campus Health Fitness credit is based on weekly hours of training in a particular activity. For Category 1 credit, this may include excused time from the campus during the school day (for example arriving late to school or leaving early on the last period of the school day) for training. This does not include other absences that are related to performances or events associated with that training.

To receive health fitness credit:

To receive health fitness credit, the facility must provide at least 15 hours of instruction per week for Category 1 programs. The facility must provide at least five hours of instruction per week for Category 2 programs.

Grade and Attendance Calendar:

First Nine Weeks grades are due by TBD
Second Nine Weeks grade are due by TBD
Third Nine Weeks grades are due by TBD
Fourth Nine Weeks grades are due by TBD

Grades:

On the requested date of each grading period, it is the responsibility of the facility to provide the grade and weekly attendance to the parent by the established deadline.

Grades must be recorded on the online grade sheet as a numeric score. A numeric value must be assigned (for example: 83).
Failure to turn in grades and attendance by the listed due date will result in the student being dropped from the program.

Questions or Concerns?

Pamela Thompson
Assistant Director of Health Fitness
pamela.thompson@springbranchisd.com
713.251.2338

2100 Shadowdale Dr.
Houston, TX 77043

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