If you are the parent of a high school student-athlete in California, you know first-hand how much time and energy your student puts into becoming as good as they can be at their chosen sport. You also know how important it is to be able to support your student, whether it's driving them to practices, helping them with training, or showing up for games and cheering from the stands.
But playing high school sports isn't always as simple as just showing up for practice. Many states, California included, heavily regulate high school sports with rules that can seriously restrict your student's ability to compete. A complete list of the dozens of bylaws that govern high school sports in California can be found on the California Interscholastic Federation's (CIF) website.
Joseph D. Lento is an attorney-advisor who has helped students all over the country with eligibility questions and issues related to their ability to compete in high school athletics and can help you make sure your student-athlete is eligible to play high school sports in California. Some of the most serious matters that he and the Lento Law Firm Team can help you with are listed below.
Age-Limit and Semester-Limit Restrictions and Waiver Requests
Generally speaking, students can compete in high school athletics for eight consecutive semesters, beginning with the 9th grade (after the 15th day of class), or from the date of the student's first interscholastic game (for sports that begin before classes start). Waivers of this eight-semester limit are sometimes possible, but are very limited. There is an age limit, however; students who are 19 on or before June 14 may not compete in high school sports during the next school year (though waivers may be available here as well, in hardship cases). If the CIF Section Commissioner denies a waiver request, the student can appeal to the Section, but must do so within 30 days of when the waiver is denied.
If you have questions about your student-athlete's ability to compete, either as a result of their age or because of the eight-continuous-semester limit, contact student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento to learn if there is possibility of securing a waiver, particularly if your student-athlete has been faced with a hardship. A “hardship” under the CIF bylaws is defined as “an unforeseeable, unavoidable, and uncorrectable act, condition or event, which causes the imposition of a severe and non-athletic burden upon the student or his/her family.” Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team can help you determine if a hardship waiver may apply to your student-athlete and, if so, are able to assist with applying for and securing a waiver of age or continuous-semester limits.
Academic Eligibility Waiver Requests and Appeals
Student-athletes must take (and pass) at least 20 credits of classes per semester (or the equivalent if they are attending a non-traditional school). They must have an unweighted GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale for the prior grading period in all of their enrolled courses in order to be eligible to play during the present grading period. (An “unweighted” GPA does not add any extra points for honors or advanced placement classes.) In addition, student-athletes must be making “minimum progress” towards their graduation requirements.
Depending on the school, a student whose grades are below the minimum may be allowed to continue to compete in sports but on an academic probationary basis. And a student who does not get a passing grade for 20 credits of work during a semester may request a waiver of that requirement, under certain conditions. If the waiver request is denied by the CIF Section Commissioner, the student can appeal the denial to the CIF Section, but must do so within 30 days of when the waiver was denied.
Student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento has the experience and knowledge to help with academic eligibility waiver requests and appeals. He and the Lento Law Firm Team have represented students from all over the country who face academic eligibility issues, and are ready to advise you about your situation.
School Disciplinary Defense
Students who are expelled from their school are not eligible to compete in any high school sports – for any school – for the duration of their expulsion. An expelled student who is able to have their expulsion suspended and returns to the same school may be eligible to compete, provided the student meets the other eligibility requirements, and provided the local school board (or school board of directors) permit. Joseph D. Lento has helped students all over the country appeal, suspend, or reverse expulsions.
If your student-athlete is the subject of a disciplinary investigation or proceeding brought by their school, you should immediately contact Joseph D. Lento to learn how he and the Lento Law Firm Team can help. Student-athlete attorney Lento has helped students all over the country with disciplinary issues, and in many cases can help prevent an unnecessary and damaging suspension or expulsion from happening.
Multi-Game Suspensions Based on Incidents During Games
There is frankly little that can be done if a student-athlete is ejected from a game or match and is hit with a single-game suspension. However, if the incident results in a multi-game suspension (typically for a second or further offense), it's possible to appeal to the CIF.
In particular, multi-game suspensions may be appealed to the League Commissioner or to the CIF Section Commissioner, but appeals need to be received within 48 hours of the date of the ejection. Appeals can only be based on misidentification of a player, or misapplication of the ejection rule. Single-game suspensions are not appealable.
In cases where your student-athlete is facing a multi-game or season-long suspension, contact student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento for help. He has worked with students all over the country facing suspension issues, and can help you craft an effective appeal that can maximize your student's chances of securing a waiver and returning to competition.
Investigations Where a Student is Accused of Assaulting an Official
A student who is found to have physically assaulted a game or event official – referee, umpire, line judge, or any other person assigned to interpret or enforce the rules at a school competition – will be banned from competing for the remainder of their eligibility. After 18 months from the date of the incident, however, the student can apply to the Executive Director of the CIF to be reinstated. Joseph D. Lento has the experience and ability to help you and your student craft and submit an effective reinstatement request.
But before your student-athlete can be banned from competing, there has to be a determination that they “physically assaulted” an official. Accidental or incidental contact with an official is not the same as physically assaulting one. Under CIF bylaws, the term “physical assault” means “the intentional infliction of or an attempt to inflict a harmful or offensive touching or contact upon the person of an official.” In the active give and take of many sports, proving that a student-athlete intended to make contact with an official can be difficult.
Joseph D. Lento's experience as a student-athlete attorney can prove extremely helpful during the investigation. Your student-athlete deserves to have their side of the story told in the clearest and most effective way possible, and their rights need to be respected during the entire process. Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team can help make that happen.
Making Sure Your Student Meets the Residential Eligibility Requirements
Meeting eligibility requirements as a 9th grader just beginning high school is relatively straightforward. It's when a student-athlete has to (or wants to) change schools that their eligibility to compete can be threatened. Joseph D. Lento can help you understand the maze of CIF regulations that can trip you up and cause your student-athlete to lose up to a year's eligibility.
You and your student can face these issues even if you're moving to a new home. You'll need to be able to prove to the school with documentary evidence that your move is “valid.” In addition, you'll have to show that the new residence is one where the student lives with their parents or guardians, and that the entire family has made the move to the new home.
If the school has questions concerning your student-athlete's “valid residence,” you should contact Joseph D. Lento. He and his Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you gather and provide evidence to prove to the school that your student's “valid residence” is where you say it is.
Transfer Issues When You're Not Moving to a New Home
This is one area where it's important to pay attention to the details if you want to make sure your child can compete for their new high school. If your child played sports at their old school (which includes practicing for 5 days or more before the school year starts), then they must either withdraw completely from their old school, or complete all of their outstanding courses and no longer be enrolled at the old school before they can play for their new school.
They must be enrolled – not simply registered to enroll – at the new school in order to play sports for the new school; except that if their sport begins practices before classes start, they may practice with the team if they are registered with the school. If the student previously competed in a sport at their old school, they may be required to “sit out” for half the season of the same sport at the new school.
Sometimes a student is on a waiting list for the new school and may not be accepted until after the school year begins. In that case, it may be possible to secure a waiver of the usual transfer requirements, but for a waiver to be granted it's important that the student NOT have played any sports at the old school during the new school year.
The CIF bylaws surrounding transfer students are complicated and can be difficult to interpret. Fortunately, student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento has experience with these kinds of regulations in states all over the country as well as California, and can help you plan your student's transfer in a way that will maximize their ability to compete in high school athletics at their new school.
Avoiding the “Athletically Motivated” Transfer Trap
There are a number of checks in place to discourage students from making an “athletically motivated” school transfer. The CIF's philosophy behind this is that “students attend school to receive an education first; athletic participation is secondary.” In cases of an “athletically motivated” school transfer, the CIF may limit the transferring student's eligibility.
The CIF will look to a number of things to try to determine whether a transfer is athletically motivated, some of which may be purely coincidental (did the student attend an athletic camp at the new school, or have a number of other students in the same sport transferred to the new school recently). Importantly, decisions limiting student eligibility due to a finding that the transfer was “athletically motivated” may be appealed.
If your student-athlete is thinking of changing schools because of a particular coach or athletic program, you need to be very careful about how you approach the situation. Student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento can help you consider the situation and the applicable CIF bylaws to determine the best way to make a transfer happen. And in the event a transfer has been deemed “athletically motivated,” Joseph D. Lento can help craft your student-athlete's appeal.
Joseph D. Lento Can Help Keep Your Student-Athlete Competing
Joseph D. Lento is an experienced national student-athlete attorney who can help guide you successfully through the maze of CIF bylaws that apply to high school sports in California. He has advised students and families all over the country who have questions about how to comply with complicated high school sports regulations or who are facing school disciplinary proceedings that could seriously affect the student's ability to compete. Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team can help make sure that your student-athlete receives the opportunity they deserve to grow and develop as athletes and as students. Contact Joseph D. Lento today at 888.535.3686 or online to learn more about how he and the Lento Law Firm Team can help.
