As the parent or guardian of a high school athlete in South Dakota, you know better than anybody how hard your student-athlete works to stay on top of their classes while training and keeping in shape for the sport or sports that they love. As a member of a team at one of South Dakota's more than 170 high schools, they're challenging themselves while forming friendships that can last a lifetime. That's why it's important to make sure that they remain eligible to compete for every possible day of those four quick years of high school. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has prepared this summary of some of the most important eligibility requirements that can affect high school student-athletes. If you have any questions about your student-athletes situation, contact us at 888.535.3686 or use our online form to set up a consultation.
High school athletics in South Dakota are governed by the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA), which publishes its constitution and the governing bylaws covering the many eligibility requirements for student-athletes. But the document also contains a lot of other information that doesn't relate to eligibility, so we've put together this summary to highlight those requirements that are most likely to affect your student-athlete's eligibility.
Age-Limit and Semester-Limit Restrictions and Waiver Requests
Student-athletes are generally eligible to compete in high school sports until they turn 20. This age-limit rule “may not be waived under any circumstances.”
In addition to the age-limit rule, student-athletes have a limited number of semesters during which they may be eligible to compete in sports. Depending on the type of semester arrangement (semesters or trimesters), each student-athlete is eligible to compete for “four first semesters and four second semesters” (where their school uses semesters) or for twelve trimesters (where their school uses trimesters) during grades 9 through 12. These semesters or trimesters are consecutive, meaning that once they start the “clock” keeps running, and they begin when the student-athlete enrolls in 9th grade.
The requirement that the semesters or trimesters be counted consecutively can be waived, however. The SDHSAA may grant a waiver “if the student loses eligibility because of serious illness, injury and/or other circumstances of a similarly serious nature.” Waiver requests must come from the school, not the student or the parents or guardians. When the SDHSAA receives a waiver request, it will notify the student's parents or guardians and will give them an opportunity to submit information relevant to the waiver request.
In any case, where a waiver request might allow your student-athlete to compete when they might not otherwise be eligible, the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help by reviewing the waiver requirements and the facts of your particular situation and by putting all of that information together in a way that will make it easier for your student-athletes school to submit a compelling request to the SDHSAA.
Academic Eligibility Waiver Requests and Appeals
With the exception of student-athletes entering 9th grade, all students must have earned a minimum of two credits towards their diploma requirements during the previous semester. If they haven't, they will be ineligible to compete during the entire next semester. This requirement may be waived in situations where the student-athlete was forced to leave school due to an injury or illness, doesn't return to school that semester, and receives no credits for that semester.
Students are allowed to “recover” missing credits by completing online courses, credit-recovery courses, or other ways approved by the South Dakota Department of Education. With the many types of approved online learning programs available, this can be a very effective way to restore eligibility where a student-athlete has failed to meet the SDHSAA minimum credit requirements.
Of course, it's better to avoid having to recover credits in the first place. This is where paying close attention to your student-athlete's academic progress during the school year can pay off. Many schools have “parent portals” that allow you to track your student's grades during the school year. This allows you to intervene before things get out of hand. In many cases, this means working with your student-athlete to make sure they get their homework finished and that they are ready for exams. But in other cases, you may need to meet with one or more of their teachers, particularly in situations where it appears the teacher is being unfair to your student.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you prepare for these sometimes-sensitive meetings, whether they're with teachers or administrators. Our experienced attorneys understand what your student's rights are, and they can help you assert those rights in a respectful but still forceful way.
School Disciplinary Defense
Schools can exercise a tremendous amount of control over a student-athlete's eligibility through their disciplinary procedures. All schools have student manuals or codes of conduct that describe what's expected of students and what procedures will be used to discipline students who are accused of misconduct. One consequence (or penalty) that is frequently applied is to suspend the student from extracurricular activities, which, of course, include athletics.
If your student-athlete is accused of serious misconduct that could result in discipline that could keep them from competing, contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for help. We can investigate the accusations and the situation and, in many cases, find additional and helpful information that school administrators missed. We can also represent you and your student-athlete in meetings with school officials, including during any hearings that might take place. In many cases, even where misconduct has been confirmed, our experienced student-athlete attorneys can suggest effective forms of discipline that will still allow your student-athlete to compete while still respecting the school's need to maintain order and discipline.
Discipline Defense for Behavior During Games
The SDHSAA states that student-athletes who are ejected from competitions on sportsmanship grounds are automatically ineligible to compete in the next scheduled competition at that level, as well as all other competitions at any level during the period of ineligibility. (There is an exception for football – a player ejected for “Illegal Personal Contact” during the first half of a game is only ineligible for the remainder of that game. If ejected during the second half, they're only ineligible for the remainder of that half and the first half of the next scheduled game.)
A second ejection during the same sports season will result in a four-game suspension at that level and from all other competitions at any level until the suspension is served. A third ejection will result in the student-athlete being suspended for the remainder of the season. Suspensions that have not been fully served at the end of a sports season will carry over to the beginning of the next season for that sport.
Limited appeals of suspensions are possible in cases where “it can be verified that his/her actions did not contribute to the disqualification.” This typically happens where the student-athlete was misidentified by an official during an altercation, and the competition was being video-recorded. If your student-athlete has been wrongfully ejected from a competition, contact us. We can help you sort things out and appeal the suspension.
Transfer Eligibility Issues
The SDHSAA's transfer eligibility rules are complicated and can end up trapping your student-athlete into a situation of extended ineligibility if you don't plan ahead properly. This summary will give you a good understanding of what those rules are and how complicated they can be. The most important aspect of any successful transfer is advance planning, and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you make sure that your student-athletes eligibility is as seamless as possible if a transfer is going to happen.
To begin with, student-athletes in South Dakota are eligible to compete for the first high school they enroll in after 8th grade. This is true both when they enroll in the district in which they live and when they take advantage of South Dakota's open enrollment policy and enroll out-of-district. It's when the student-athlete transfers from that first high school that things can get complicated.
One scenario is where the student-athlete's family moves to a new residence in a different school district. In that case – where the move is a “bona fide” one – the student can transfer to a school in that district (or in the residence zone where the new home is if there is more than one high school in the district). The SDHSAA may scrutinize the family move closely to make sure it's a “bona fide” one, and will look to see:
- Whether the family has “abandoned” the old residence, sold it, rented it, or otherwise left it with no family members still living there;
- Whether the entire family has moved to the new home, with all of their belongings;
- Whether the family intends to remain in the new home permanently, or at least for the duration of the student-athlete's enrollment.
Other factors may be considered as well. Families are not allowed to use dual residences for enrollment purposes, and a student-athlete who tries to use a vacation home, for example, as a residence for school enrollment purposes, may find themselves ineligible for a full year at the new school.
Student-athletes don't have to change schools if their families move, however. They can remain enrolled – and eligible – at their original school even if their family moves to a new home in a different school district.
Student-athletes enrolled as part of South Dakota's “open enrollment” policy are allowed one transfer during their high school career with no eligibility penalty; subsequent transfers can find them ruled ineligible for the one-year period.
If a student-athlete enrolls at a new high school in anticipation of their family's move to that district, the student will be ineligible until the family actually makes the move.
Students whose parents divorce are typically allowed to enroll in a school located in the district where the parent with physical custody lives, again with no eligibility penalty.
Students who transfer to a new school after the beginning of a semester must wait eleven school days for schools on a five-day schedule and nine school days for schools on a four-day schedule before they are eligible to compete at their new school (assuming they meet all other eligibility requirements, of course).
Waivers of the eligibility requirements are available in hardship situations. These include the death of a parent, the divorce or court-ordered separation of the parents, or a severe economic situation such as bankruptcy, foreclosure, or job loss that is outside of the family's control. There are specific forms that must be completed if requesting a waiver of the transfer rules and information that needs to be supplied along with the request.
In situations where you or your student-athlete are thinking of moving to a new home or transferring schools or where you may be forced to move because of a hardship situation, the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team is ready to help you make sure your student-athlete will meet the eligibility requirements or secure a waiver where the facts will support one. The best strategy in any transfer situation is advance planning, and we are ready to help you with that.
Recruitment Ineligibility
Schools and coaches in South Dakota are not allowed to recruit students for their athletic skills or potential. If your student-athlete is being contacted by a school or a coach about attending their school, beware – the penalty for enrolling could be one year's worth of ineligibility.
The Lento Law Firm Can Help Keep Your Student-Athlete Competing
The experienced student defense attorneys from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have been helping hard-working student-athletes stay eligible in South Dakota and at high schools all across the country. We are ready to help you, too, and we understand how important it is to you and your student-athlete that they stay eligible throughout their high school career.
Whether it's a disciplinary situation in the classroom, a transfer waiver issue, an academic eligibility problem, or something else, we can help you understand what your options are and can help. Call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686, or use our online contact form to set up a confidential consultation. We've helped student-athletes solve their eligibility problems all over the country, and we're ready to help you and your student-athlete, too!
