If you think about it, high school student-athletes really are extraordinary people. They spend hours each weekday in school and then devote hours more of what could be their free time to getting and staying in shape, learning the skills needed to excel in their chosen sports, and practicing and playing with their high school teams.
As the parent or guardian of a high school student-athlete in Kentucky, you've seen first-hand how hard they work at all of this, and you've been an important part of their growth both as students and as athletes. On the student side, you've been there when they needed help with homework, test prep, or school projects. And on the athlete side, you've made sure they have the clothing and equipment they need for their sport, you've driven them to training and practice sessions, and you've cheered them on from the stands as they put themselves out there in competition.
There is one other way you can help – take the lead in making sure they stay eligible to compete. In Kentucky, high school sports are governed at more than 250 schools across the state by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA). The KHSAA has a comprehensive set of bylaws and policies that apply to all aspects of high school sports in Kentucky, and while it goes into great detail about issues like student eligibility, the material covers a lot of other things too. So instead of trying to wade through the detailed KHSAA Handbook, this post summarizes some of the more important eligibility rules that commonly affect high school athletes.
If, after reviewing this material, you still have questions about how the KHSAA bylaws may relate to a particular situation with your student-athlete, contact student-athlete attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento for help. He and the Lento Law Firm Student-Defense Team have years of experience helping student-athletes and their parents navigate the often-complicated rules and regulations that state high school sports associations put in place that can affect student-athlete eligibility.
Age-Limit and Year-Limit Restrictions and Waiver Requests
Student-athletes remain eligible to compete in Kentucky until they turn 19. Then their eligibility depends on the date of their birthday. If they turn 19 before August 1 of any given year, they are not eligible to compete during the upcoming academic year. If, however, they turn 19 on or after August 1, then they can continue to compete through the entire upcoming academic year.
There are very limited waivers available for this provision. These are almost exclusively available for student-athletes who have learning issues that have caused them to spend extra time in grade school so that they enter high school at a more advanced age than most students. If your student-athlete is in this category, Joseph D. Lento can help you request a waiver from the KHSAA Ruling Officer or Commissioner.
Student-athletes are allowed to compete for four consecutive years, beginning with the first semester of grade nine. This requirement can also be waived by the KHSAA Ruling Officer or Commissioner in cases where a student-athlete was prevented from receiving “basic education services” as the result of a “severe illness or injury.”
The KHSAA has a “Due Process Procedure” that applies generally to waiver requests. This involves an application to the KHSAA, which may, in most cases of student eligibility questions may, be made by the student-athlete. In most cases, the KHSAA Ruling Officer will handle the waiver request. The request needs to be supported by detailed information from the student-athlete and, in many cases, from the school. Hearings are announced in advance, and the affected student-athlete, their parents or guardians, and school officials are “advised, recommended and encouraged to attend hearings.”
Student-athletes may also be represented by counsel at hearings, provided all parties are notified in advance.
The Hearing Officer will issue a recommendation following the hearing. The KHSAA Commissioner will review the recommendation and will either adopt it, reject or modify it in whole or in part, or remand the matter for further proceedings. Student-athletes may appeal a final decision of the Commissioner in court.
Academic Eligibility Waiver Requests
The KHSAA requires member schools to monitor student-athlete grades and progress during the school year. At the beginning of each school year, the school must confirm that the student-athlete was enrolled as a full-time student during the most recent grading period and that the student-athlete is “on schedule to graduate” with their class. Summer school or other approved coursework completed outside of “regular” school may be considered when determining whether the student-athlete is on schedule.
The KHSAA measures whether a student is “on schedule to graduate” as follows: a 10th grader must have earned 20% of the credits required to graduate during their time in 9th grade; an 11th grader must have earned 45% of the credits required for graduation during 9th and 10th grade; and a 12th grader must have earned 70% of the credits required for graduation during their time in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades.
A student-athlete who is ineligible at the beginning of a school year at a high school that operates on a year-long academic calendar (no semesters) can regain eligibility by completing 25% of the graduation credits during that year of ineligibility. If the school operates on a two-semester schedule, the ineligible student-athlete may regain eligibility during the second semester by earning 15% of the graduation credits during the first semester. And if the school operates on a trimester schedule, an ineligible student can regain eligibility during the next trimester by earning 10% of the graduation credits during any one trimester.
Student-athletes must also be making “continual progress” on a week-by-week basis during the school year. KHSAA high schools are required to check student-athlete grades on a weekly basis, and they must be receiving passing grades in “at least four hours of instruction” out of the six required hours.
Academic ineligibility rulings may be subject to hardship waivers using the KHSAA Due Process Procedure described above. Requests are decided by the KHSAA Hearing Officer and ruled on by a Ruling Officer. Generally, the request must show that the “strict application of the applicable bylaw is unfair to the student-athlete because the circumstances creating the ineligibility are clearly beyond the control of all of the parties involved.”
If your student-athlete is ruled academically ineligible, and you believe that the facts of their situation may support a hardship waiver, contact student-athlete attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento for help. He and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have helped many students across the country prepare and file effective and successful hardship waiver requests. They know what types of evidence will carry weight when a hardship request is considered, and they can help you gather it and present it in a compelling way. In addition, they can appear with you and your student-athlete at the waiver hearing and will make sure that the Hearing Officer's questions and concerns are fully addressed.
School Disciplinary Defense
The school day is a long one, and student-athletes tend to spend many more hours at their desks than they do on the playing field. As a result, one of the most common ways for a student-athlete to lose eligibility is through school disciplinary actions.
All schools have student conduct codes or handbooks that describe both expected and prohibited behavior. There will be specific procedures described for investigating and deciding on misconduct allegations and the range of potential consequences that can result. Typically, a student can receive penalties ranging from verbal reprimands, to written notations in their permanent records, to in-school detention or suspension, to expulsion. One common penalty is to prohibit the student from participating in extracurricular activities – including, of course, athletics.
This is why it can be important to get the help of an experienced student discipline attorney-advisor if your student is facing a school disciplinary situation that may result in them losing eligibility to compete. The problem frequently is that a busy school administrator may not always have the time or the training to conduct thorough and fair investigations into reports of student misconduct. As a result, important information that may exonerate a student may never make it to the attention of the administrator. Or hearings may allow testimony or other evidence that is never properly questioned or countered.
Joseph D. Lento has advised students all over the country who face serious disciplinary proceedings at school. He and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have years of experience with these kinds of procedures, and bringing them on board to help you and your student can make all the difference between a misconduct claim that is found out to be unsupported and one that results in a loss of eligibility for your student.
Discipline Defense for Behavior During Games
In Kentucky, a student-athlete who is ejected from a game or a scrimmage on sportsmanship grounds is immediately ineligible for an indefinite period of time until they are reinstated. And while, in general, an official's in-game decision may not be questioned, the KHSAA has the discretion to review situations where there is video evidence to support a request to lift a suspension (showing that the student was misidentified); or where there was “an administrative misapplication” of a playing rule resulted in an “erroneous ejection.”
While the KHSAA bylaws don't set a specific period of time that ejected players will remain ineligible, they do set minimums: two games for all sports except football and one game for football. For individual sports such as swimming, track, or wrestling, the ineligibility period includes the “entire meet schedule, not for a single event.” If it's the second ejection during the same season for a student-athlete, the minimum period of ineligibility is raised to three games (two for football); and for a third ejection, the suspension will continue for the remainder of the season.
If your student-athlete has been ejected from a game for unsportsmanlike behavior and you believe a mistake was made, contact attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento as soon as possible to get help with bringing the mistake to the attention of the school and, ultimately, the KHSAA.
Transfer Issues That Can Interfere With Eligibility
The KHSAA has a comprehensive – and complicated – set of bylaws that regulate what happens if a student-athlete transfers to a new high school from an existing high school. Generally speaking, the student will be ineligible to compete in athletics at the new school for a period of one year from the date they last participated in the sport.
There are a number of exceptions to this general rule, however – eleven, to be exact. The most typical are the following:
- The student's family moved to a new home in a new school district before the student enrolled at the new school in that new school district;
- The student's parents divorce, a court grants one parent primary custody, and the student changes districts to live with that parent;
- The student transfers from a school in Kentucky that is not a member of the KHSAA;
- The student can document that they have been bullied at their former school, and a transfer is required as a result of the bullying or harassment.
As noted, there are other exceptions. All of these require the student's family to request a waiver of the usual rule that a transfer will result in a one-year period of ineligibility. The request needs to be filed with the KHSAA using the Due Process Procedure and may be subject to a hearing before the waiver is granted.
Because the KHSAA transfer bylaws are so complicated, it's important to plan ahead if your family is considering a move to another school district or your student-athlete believes they would otherwise like to transfer to a new high school. This is where contacting student-athlete attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento can really pay off. He and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team understand how these complicated transfer guidelines work, and they can help you evaluate your situation, determine whether an exception may apply, and then file a comprehensive and convincing request to the KHSAA for a waiver.
Make Joseph D. Lento Part of Your Student-Athlete Eligibility Team
Joseph D. Lento has been advising student-athletes for years, helping them with transfer, disciplinary, academic, and other types of eligibility issues. He and the Lento Law Firm Student-Defense Team understand what it means to be a student athlete and how important it is to be able to compete. They know the bylaws and procedures that govern high school eligibility in Kentucky, and they can help you wade through the hundreds of pages of material to identify what you need to do and when and how you need to do it.
If your student-athlete's eligibility is at risk, call Joseph D. Lento today at 888.535.3686, or set up a confidential consultation with the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team by using the firm's online contact form.
