Illinois has one of the most comprehensive high school competition programs in the nation. With 30 accredited types of activities, ranging from traditional football, basketball, and baseball to newer types of competition such as bass fishing, esports, and journalism, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) regulates a wide range of competitive activities involving students in both public and private schools across the state.
If you are the parent or guardian of a student-athlete involved in one of these activities, you know how much effort it takes for your student to excel at what they do. As an athlete, they need to stay in shape as well as develop their skills in their chosen sport if they want to make a difference on the field, court, track, or wherever their competition takes place. And as a student, they need to keep up with their studies and make sure they are progressing towards graduation. Of course they've had help along the way, and you've probably played a big role in their success, making sure they get to their practices and games and have the gear they need for their sport and working with them on difficult homework assignments or pre-test quiz sessions.
There is something else you can do for them as well: help them make sure they stay eligible to compete. The IHSA has a detailed handbook that includes all of the rules and regulations that apply to student-athlete eligibility, but it also covers many other issues and at over 120 pages, it can be difficult to wade through all of the information to find what you might need for your student-athlete's situation. What follows is a summary of some of the most important IHSA rules relating to student-athlete eligibility. If you have questions about your student-athlete's eligibility, or if their eligibility is threatened by a disciplinary issue, grading situation, or potential school transfer, contact student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for help. They understand how high school eligibility rules and regulations work and are ready to advise and assist your student-athlete with eligibility issues.
Age-Limit and Year-Limit Restrictions and Waivers
Student-athletes may be eligible to compete in Illinois until they turn 20. If they turn 20 during any sports season, they are ineligible to compete as of the beginning of that season. So, for example, if a student-athlete competing in Track and Field, where the season typically begins mid-January, will turn 20 at the end of February, they will not be eligible to compete during that entire season.
Student-athletes may be eligible to compete for a maximum of eight semesters after they enroll in 9th grade. The final two semesters (for most students, their senior year) must be consecutive. Otherwise, there may be gaps between semesters of competition. There is a separate limitation that applies to each sport; student-athletes are not eligible to compete for more than 4 consecutive school years in any one sport.
All eligibility decisions may be waived by the IHSA Executive Director in situations where the reason for the student-athlete being declared ineligible was beyond the control of the student-athlete, their parents or guardians, and their school; or where the ineligibility determination was the result of a clerical or administrative error.
If the Executive Director does not grant the waiver request, the student, their parents or guardians, or the school may appeal the decision to the IHSA Board of Directors, which will appoint a hearing officer to conduct a hearing on the appeal.
In any situation where your student-athlete may be requesting a waiver of an IHSA eligibility rule or appealing an Executive Director's ruling, you need the help of an experienced student-athlete attorney. Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have years of experience helping high school student-athletes maintain their eligibility in states all over the country. They can help you understand the bylaws that apply to your student-athlete's situation, gather the information needed to request the waiver or submit the appeal, and where there is a hearing can prepare documents and appear at the hearing on your student-athlete's behalf to present evidence, question witnesses, and help protect your student-athlete's rights.
Academic Eligibility Requirements
Student-athletes must generally be enrolled at the school they compete for and must be taking at least 25 credit hours of coursework that will count towards their high school diploma in order to be eligible to compete for their school during any given semester.
In addition to the enrollment requirement, student-athletes must maintain passing grades in those classes throughout the semester. Schools are required to conduct ‘grade checks' on a weekly basis, and a student who does not have a passing grade in the 25-credit-hour minimum worth of classes will be ineligible on a week-by-week basis until they raise their grades in all of those classes to at least a passing level.
To be eligible to compete at the beginning of a semester, the student-athlete must have taken and passed at least 25 credit hours worth of classes that count towards graduation during the previous semester. Summer school classes can be used to make up any deficiencies in a student's second semester classes, provided the work is completed before the beginning of the fall semester.
If a student-athlete misses ten consecutive school days during any semester, they will be ineligible to compete for the remainder of the semester, unless they receive a written exception from the IHSA. Exceptions may be granted in situations where the student was absent due to their illness or that of a family member, or by “other circumstances deemed acceptable” to the IHSA Board of Directors.
As with other eligibility rulings, waivers may be available from the IHSA Executive Director for circumstances that were beyond the student-athlete's control, and appeals from the Executive Director's decision may be made to the IHSA Board of Directors. Here too, Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you understand the IHSA rules and request waivers or file appeals on behalf of your student-athlete.
School Disciplinary Defense
Student-athletes are in school many more hours than they are out on the practice field or competing in their chosen sport. As a result, they are more likely to run into eligibility issues as a result of in-school discipline than they are for anything that happens while they're suited up for athletics.
All schools have codes of conduct or similar types of rules, regulations, and disciplinary procedures that apply to student behavior. While all of these have been drafted with the best of intentions, they are not always administered fairly. Allegations of misconduct may be misplaced, investigations may be incomplete, and hearing processes may be unfair to the accused student. All of this can affect the student-athlete on and off the field, especially when the school suspends the student from extracurricular activities (including athletics) as a consequence for misconduct. In addition, many serious misconduct findings end up on the student's school record, which can adversely affect their ability to get into college or to get a job after high school.
Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have years of experience advising and representing high school students involved in school disciplinary situations all over the United States. They understand how these processes work and can help you, and your student gather evidence in their favor and prepare for any type of hearing or school meeting that is part of the disciplinary process.
Discipline Defense for Behavior During Games
Student-athletes who are ejected from a competition due to unsportsmanlike conduct are ineligible for the next scheduled contest in that sport. Schools can contest an ejection based on either misidentification of the player or misapplication by the official of a playing rule related to the violation. They need to contact the IHSA Executive Director quickly, however, before the next scheduled competition takes place. If your student-athlete is facing that kind of situation, contact Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for help as soon as possible before time runs out.
Discipline Defense for Drug Testing Violations
The IHSA has a comprehensive drug testing and penalty procedure in place that applies to student-athletes. This is focused on performance-enhancing drugs; the IHSA recommends that its member schools maintain their own policies regarding student use of tobacco, alcohol, and “recreational” drugs.
A student-athlete who tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs (or refuses to provide a sample for testing) faces a one-year loss of eligibility.
There is a detailed testing procedure in place that includes a second test (called a “Specimen B” test) in the case of a positive first-test result, as well as an appeal process in the event of a finding that the student-athlete has used performance-enhancing drugs without a valid medical reason. The parents or guardians of the student-athlete are notified in advance of the Specimen B test and are entitled to be present or to have a representative present for the testing.
Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team are ready and able to act as a representative in cases where a student-athlete has failed a first performance-enhancing drug test and is scheduled for a Specimen B test. But you need to act quickly if this happens, because the IHSA rules provide no more than two business days advance notice for the Specimen B test.
School Transfer Issues
School transfer situations are one of the most complicated areas of the IHSA bylaws. Generally speaking, the IHSA tries to discourage student-athletes from changing high schools for athletic reasons. At the same time, the IHSA recognizes that there are legitimate reasons for student-athletes to move to a different high school, such as when their families move to a new home.
All transfers, even ones made as a result of the parents or guardians moving to a new home, need to be documented by the principals of the student-athlete's old school and their new school using an IHSA-approved transfer form. Even if both principals agree that the transferring student should be eligible to compete at the new high school, the IHSA can investigate the transfer and may still find the student-athlete ineligible.
That said, generally speaking, if a student-athlete's family is moving to a new home and that home is in a different school district from their old home, the student will be eligible to compete in sports at their new high school. That said, even in a family-move situation, if the transfer happens mid-season, the student will be ineligible at the new school for the remainder of that season. Basically, if the student begins a sport season competing for one school, the student may not end the sport season competing for another school.
In addition, if a student transfers to a new school after classes begin, the student will be ineligible for 30 days after enrolling, but only for sports where the student had not yet competed during that school year at the student's old school.
So as an example, if a student-athlete is on the football team at one school and their family moves to a new home in late September, and the student transfers schools, then the student won't be eligible to play football at the new school for the remainder of the season. The student will be eligible to compete in basketball, but only beginning 30 days after enrolling at the new school.
Student transfers that are not related to parents or guardians moving to a new school district can result in the student-athlete being declared ineligible to compete at their new school. The IHSA Executive Director may waive this in situations where the transfer to the new school was the first time the student-athlete had enrolled at a public high school in their school district; or where the transfer was prompted by a change in their family's financial circumstances; or where there are “extenuating circumstances” that support granting a waiver; or where the transfer happens before the beginning of the student-athlete's sophomore year.
In addition to all of these, the IHSA Executive Director may grant hardship waivers.
Because the transfer situation can be so complicated, if you or your student-athlete are thinking of changing schools for any reason – whether it's a family move or otherwise – contact Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for advice. They understand the IHSA transfer bylaws and can help you make sure your student keeps their eligibility or, where the transfer may result in a serious loss of eligibility, can help you apply to the IHSA for a waiver.
Joseph D. Lento Can Help Keep Your Student-Athlete Competing
Your student-athlete is working hard to compete in athletics and to do well in school, and in most cases, they have only four short years to enjoy what can be one of the most rewarding periods in their life. If their eligibility to compete in athletics is being threatened or has been taken away by the IHSA or their school, contact Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for help. They have years of experience helping student-athletes protect their rights and fight for their eligibility, and they can help you too. Call Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or by using their online contact form. They are there to listen and help.
