If you are the parent or guardian of a high school student-athlete in Michigan (or a student-athlete who will be in high school soon), you know that being able to compete in their choice of sports is something that is very important to them. You've probably been a big part of their athletic development, whether by teaching them the basics, driving them to practices and games, or just cheering them on from the stands. You've also been there for your student when they needed academic help with homework, school projects, or studying for tests. And making sure that your student-athlete stays eligible to compete throughout their high school career is something that's extremely important to both of you.
This is an area where you are in a great position to help your student. The eligibility rules of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) are very complicated and can be challenging to follow. Your student-athlete should be able to concentrate on their academics and their athletics and leave the eligibility issues to you. What follows is a summary of some of the main MHSAA rules that relate to student eligibility. If your student-athlete finds themselves in a situation where their eligibility may be threatened, you can also contact student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento. He and the Lento Law Firm have years of experience helping students all over the United States with high school eligibility issues. They can help you understand your student's situation and decide the best way to proceed.
Age-Limit and Semester-Limit Restrictions and Waiver Requests
Students who are 18 or younger are eligible to participate in high school sports in Michigan (assuming they meet all other eligibility requirements). In addition, if they turn 19 after September 1 of any year, they are eligible for the remainder of that school year. In other words, a student entering their senior year who turns 19 on August 30 is not eligible to compete in interscholastic sports, while a student who turns 19 on September 2 is.
The MHSAA Executive Committee may allow an exception to this requirement for students who had a documented developmental disability that delayed their entry into 9th grade, provided allowing the student to compete despite their age will not “present a significant risk of injury” to opponents, teammates, or themselves, and won't “create a competitive advantage.”
In addition, the MHSAA may waive this eligibility limit for students who currently have a disability that “limits both physical and either intellectual or emotional capabilities,” provided the disability has a “direct and negative impact on the student's physical athletic ability.”
Student-athletes are limited to eight semesters (or 12 trimesters) of eligibility for grades 9 through 12. Only the final two semesters (or three trimesters) must be consecutive. In addition, student-athletes are only eligible for a total of four first and second semesters (if their school uses the semester model) or four first, second, and third trimesters (if their school is on the trimester model).
Students enrolled in a school using the semester model who withdraw from school before the fourth Friday after Labor Day (during the first semester) or the fourth Friday in February (during the second semester) and who haven't participated in any athletic scrimmages or games during their time in school will not be considered to have used one of their semesters of eligibility. Students enrolled in a school using the trimester model who withdraw before the fourth Friday after Labor Day or the fourth Friday after the beginning of the second or third trimester and who haven't scrimmaged or competed in a game will also not be considered to have used one of their trimesters of eligibility.
Waivers are available in cases where the student had a “medically documented and seriously debilitating illness or injury” or a disability that delayed them in “completing their high school education” after they enrolled in 9th grade. The MHSAA Executive Committee may grant the waiver in situations, as above, where doing so won't put the student or others at risk or create a competitive advantage.
If your student is facing possible ineligibility due to their age or a semester-limit issue, student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento can help you review your situation and, where applicable, work with you and your student's school to prepare and submit a waiver request to the MHSAA.
Academic Eligibility Standards and Waiver Requests
Student-athletes are required to earn a minimum of 66% of a full credit load per semester or trimester to be eligible to play during the next semester or trimester. (This does not apply to students entering 9th grade.) If a student does not meet this requirement, they can make up the missing credits during the summer session and will be eligible to play when school begins in the fall. They can also make up the missing credits during the following semester but will remain ineligible until the credits have been earned.
Student-athletes are also checked periodically during the semester or trimester, and if at that point they do not have a passing grade in classes that make up at least 66% of a full credit load, they are ineligible to play for at least one Monday-Sunday week, and until they improve their grades to meet that 66% mark.
This requirement, as with all MSHAA regulations, may be waived. As noted above, waiver requests must come from the school, not from parents or students. If your student-athlete is at risk of losing eligibility due to academic issues, and you believe there are circumstances that could support a successful waiver, contact student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento to learn how he can help you support your waiver request. He and the Lento Law Firm Team have experience helping students from all over the country remain eligible, and they can help you determine the best way to help.
School Disciplinary Defense
A student who is suspended from school in Michigan is not eligible to compete. But beyond that, schools have their own codes of conduct that describe potential consequences for various types of misconduct. In most cases, barring a student from participating in extracurricular activities is one of the possible consequences.
School codes of conduct typically describe the process that the school uses to investigate misconduct allegations. More serious allegations may involve a hearing before school administrators, followed by a decision about whether or how to punish the student. It's not unusual for these processes – as well-meaning as they might be on paper – to be deeply flawed in practice. Investigations are incomplete or consider evidence that is less than trustworthy. Administrators are trained to run schools, not to investigate and rule on misconduct charges. Students and sometimes even teachers can hold grudges against a student that can affect what they say during an investigation or hearing.
Joseph D. Lento has many years of experience advising students involved in school disciplinary matters. He understands that busy school administrators don't always have the time or experience to run an effective and fair investigation and hearing, and he also knows how to help make that happen. If your student has been accused of the kind of misconduct that could not only affect their eligibility to play sports in high school but possibly become part of their permanent record, contact Joseph D. Lento for help. He and the Lento Law Firm can review your situation and help you and your student prepare an effective defense. In addition, where necessary, he can work with school administrators to try to arrive at a reasonable solution to the allegation that does not involve loss of eligibility.
Discipline Defense for Behavior During Games
Student-athletes who are disqualified by an official for unsportsmanlike conduct during a game are also disqualified from the team's next game. Students can also be disqualified for misconduct that occurs after the game is over; in that case, they are disqualified from the team's next game. If a student is disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct three or more times in a season or is ejected for spitting at or making physical contact with an official in an aggressive way, the student-athlete will be ineligible to participate in the MCHSAA tournament that season.
Unfortunately, MCHSAA bylaws state that “there is no appeal of a penalty that automatically results in a suspension either from the next day of competition or the MHSAA tournament.” However, the student's school administrator may submit a “review request,” asking the MHSAA to review the ejection. The MHSAA has detailed guidelines for when it will consider such a request. One is that the rule that resulted in the ejection was misapplied by the official; another is that the ejected student was misidentified by the official; and the third is that video evidence shows that there was not “flagrant or malicious contact with an opponent,” if that was the basis for the ejection.
In the case of a review request that falls under one of these categories, there is a considerable amount of information that needs to be collected and submitted in a relatively short period of time. Joseph D. Lento can help you and your student gather that information for the school official (who can be the athletic director) to submit to the MCHSAA on your student-athlete's behalf.
Transfer Issues
The MCHSAA rules regarding transfer eligibility are very complicated. If your student-athlete is considering transferring from one high school to another – even if your entire family is moving and the school transfer is a result of that move – you should carefully consider how the move could affect your student's eligibility to compete in athletics at their new school. While the MCHSAA bylaws state that student-athletes who transfer from one school to another are “not immediately eligible” to participate in games or scrimmages, they go on to list 15 different exceptions to that rule.
One exception that will apply to many situations: Students who make a “full and complete residential change” with their families to a new residence in a different high school district will generally be eligible to compete at the new school. Another exception applies when a student's parents are divorced, and the student moves to live with one of them; this applies if the principals of the old school and the new school complete an Educational Transfer Form for the student.
If none of the 15 exceptions apply, the transferring student is ineligible to compete in the same sport they competed in at their old school for the entire next season. The student-athlete may compete in other sports with no delay.
Upon request, the MHSAA Executive Committee may waive this regulation “if there are compelling circumstances for changing schools having nothing to do with athletics, discipline, or family finances.” If the Executive Committee waives the regulation, the period of ineligibility is reduced to “90 scheduled school days.”
If your family is considering moving to a new home, or your student-athlete is considering changing schools for any reason, contact Joseph D. Lento to learn how he can help you make sure your student maintains as much eligibility as possible. Student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team have the understanding and experience with these kinds of issues to help you navigate the sometimes-complicated MHSAA bylaws and keep your student-athlete playing.
Athletic Motivated Transfer Issues
A student's former school can argue that a student's otherwise-acceptable transfer was “primarily for athletic reasons.” The MHSAA bylaws include seven different scenarios in its definition of a transfer “for athletic reasons,” including dissatisfaction with playing time, a problem with the coach, a desire to play for a lesser-quality team so as to stand out more, a desire to play for a higher-quality team to have a better chance of being noticed by college recruiters, and others.
Athletic motivated challenges are subject to a notice-and-response procedure. If your student's transfer is challenged by their old school based on a claim that it was an athletic-motivated one, contact Joseph D. Lento for help. He and the Lento Law Firm can help you prepare your student's defense to the challenge and can help your student-athlete's new school prepare an effective response.
Another trap to be aware of is the “link rule,” which applies if a student who is ineligible under any of the transfer exceptions has had certain types of contact with the new school or coaches at the new school during the 12 months before the transfer. Participating in an open gym at the new school, as a member of a non-school team coached by one of the new school's coaches, or at a summer camp or clinic where a coach or administrator from the new school was working are several examples of the “link” that can result in loss of eligibility. And the loss is substantial: it covers not only the remainder of the current season but the entire next season as well.
The student-athlete's new school can petition the MHSAA Executive Director for relief from this rule “under compelling circumstances” or where a coach involved in a “link” event joins the new school after the student transfers there.
Make Joseph D. Lento Part of Your Team
Student-athlete attorney Joseph D. Lento has years of experience helping families and students all over the United States understand and overcome complicated and frustrating eligibility issues. He and the Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you help your student-athlete to remain eligible to compete in the sport or sports that they love. If your student-athlete is at risk of losing eligibility to play high school sports, or if you have any questions about the best way to proceed to make sure that they remain eligible, call Joseph D. Lento today at 888.535.3686 or through the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team's online contact form. You'll be glad you did.
