A local agency shall not provide or otherwise carry out any of its extracurricular programs or activities separately, or require or refuse participation therein by any of its students on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender, ethnic group identification, race, ancestry, national origin, religion, color, or mental or physical disability. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the use of prerequisites to participation in certain extracurricular activities where the prerequisites have been demonstrated to be essential to the success in the particular extracurricular activities.