Student-athletes work hard to distinguish themselves both on the field and in the classroom. As the parent or guardian of a student who challenges themselves to excel in both areas, you know first-hand how hard they work and how deeply they care about doing their best. You've undoubtedly played an important role in helping them develop their athletic skills as well as assisting them with their studies.
There's another way you can help your student-athlete; one that goes beyond driving them to practices, cheering for their games, and quizzing them before their tests. It involves taking the lead on making sure they remain eligible to compete in high school athletics.
This unfortunately is not as simple a task as it might sound. Eligibility for high school athletes in Virginia is determined by the Virginia High School League (VHSL) and your student's school. The VHSL Handbook's rules, regulations, and procedures run for more than 200 pages. While not all of them relate to student eligibility, the ones that do are detailed and complicated for people who don't deal with them on a day-to-day basis to follow. On top of this, each school has its own code of conduct and requirements that dictate when students may and may not participate in extracurricular activities.
What follows is an overview of some of the most important things you, as a parent or guardian of a high school student-athlete in Virginia need to know about keeping your student eligible to compete in athletics. If you have particular questions about your student's situation, contact student-athlete Attorney Advisor Joseph D. Lento, who has the experience and understanding of interscholastic high school eligibility requirements to advise you on how best to proceed.
Age-Limit and Semester-Limit Restrictions and Waiver Requests
Student-athletes are eligible to compete in Virginia (assuming they meet the other eligibility requirements) until their 19th birthday. If they turn 19 after August 1, they will remain age-eligible through that next school year. If they are 19 on or before August 1, they will not be eligible to compete.
Student-athletes are eligible for a period of eight consecutive semesters, beginning with the first semester of 9th grade or, if they skip 9th grade and enter high school as a 10th grader, beginning with the first semester of 10th grade.
Both age-limit and semester-limit eligibility determinations can be appealed. Age-limit appeals may be granted if the student's entry into high school was delayed by a “significant disability” or because the student is a “non-native language speaking student,” or is a “foreign student in refugee status.” A “significant disability” can include “long-term physical impairment or illness.”
Semester-limit appeals may be granted where the student-athlete was unable to stay continuously enrolled due to illness, injury, or “undue hardship” circumstances that were beyond the student's control. In addition, semester-limit appeals may be available for foreign refugee students; students who participate in approved foreign study programs; for non-English-speaking students placed in a lower grade or who did not “progress satisfactorily” due to being enrolled in ESL classes; or where the student received incorrect advice from a school official.
Virginia has an extensive eligibility appeal process that applies to virtually all eligibility waiver requests. Appeals typically begin with the student's principal. If the principal does not grant the appeal, either the principal or the parents or guardians may appeal to the VHSL District Chairman, who submits it to the District Committee. The District Committee's decision is forwarded to the VHSL Associate Director. If the Associate Director denies the waiver, that may be appealed to the VHSL Executive Committee. And if the Executive Committee denies the appeal, the matter may be further appealed to an Independent Hearing Officer, the costs of which are to be shared by the VHSL and the person making the appeal.
If you are faced with any sort of eligibility appeal in Virginia, it can be a great help to have an experienced student-athlete attorney work with you to put together a compelling set of documents supporting the appeal. Joseph D. Lento has helped high-school students across the country appeal eligibility, disciplinary, and grade-related issues, and he understands how these complicated proceedings work. He and the Lento Law Firm Team are skilled at gathering the relevant information in support of an appeal and presenting it in a compelling and understandable way.
Academic Eligibility Waiver Requests and Appeals
Student-athletes must be enrolled in at least five for-credit subjects each semester to be eligible to compete during that semester.
In addition, with the exception of students entering 9th grade, for student-athletes to be eligible to compete during the first semester, they must have passed at least five for-credit subjects during the previous semester (or during the past year if the courses were year-long courses). And to be eligible to compete during the second semester of any year, student-athletes must have passed at least five for-credit subjects during the first semester.
There are slight variations of this requirement that come into play depending on whether the school uses an “annual basis” grading system, a “semester basis” grading system, or a “combination of annual basis and semester basis” grading. These are described in detail in the VHSL Handbook. It's important to understand what kind of grading system your school is using if there is any question about whether your student-athlete will pass all of their for-credit courses during any grading period.
Academic (or “Scholarship”) eligibility determinations may be appealed. Waivers may be granted where an extended illness prevented the student from attending classes, where the student suffered an “undue hardship” such as a death in the family or “other extreme circumstance;” or where the student received incorrect advice from a school official.
School Disciplinary Defense
Under VHSL regulations, student-athletes who are suspended from school are not eligible to compete in interscholastic sports in Virginia. In addition, schools have their own rules that can impact a student's eligibility. Codes of conduct can include suspension of extracurricular privileges as one consequence for student misbehavior, and some schools may have academic requirements that go above and beyond those in the VHSL Handbook.
While school codes of conduct frequently set forth detailed procedures for investigating allegations of student misconduct, and provide a range of potential responses where the conduct is substantiated, it's not unusual for investigations to be poorly done and for punishments to be unfairly applied. School administrators are typically busy people who aren't well-trained in how to investigate and rule on claims of student misbehavior. Student-athlete Attorney-Advisor Joseph D. Lento has seen this happen time and time again. He has advised high school students from all over the United States who have been accused of serious misconduct, and has helped them make sure the investigation process conducted by their schools was done fairly and in a way that respects their rights.
If your student is facing a disciplinary investigation or hearing at school that could derail their athletic career or leave a permanent mark on their academic record, contact Joseph D. Lento as soon as possible for help. He can work with you to make sure the school investigates the situation properly, conducts a fair hearing, and respects your student's rights. In cases where misconduct is substantiated, Joseph D. Lento can often suggest alternative consequences that will allow the student to continue to participate in their extracurricular activities while still being accountable for their actions.
Discipline for Behavior During Games
When a student-athlete is ejected from a competition in Virginia, the VHSL mandates some fairly serious consequences. Student-athletes ejected for fighting, biting, “aggressive physical contact,” or using hate speech will be suspended for the next three scheduled games. If they use profanity against an official or leave the bench and become involved in an on-field altercation, they will be suspended for two games. A player ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct will be suspended for the next game.
Ejection penalties can be appealed by the student-athlete's parents, guardians, or coach. The first level appeal is made to the student's principal. If the principal determines the appeal has merit, the matter is forwarded to the principal of the opposing school or schools involved in the competition from which the student was ejected, as well as to the commissioner of the officials' association responsible for that competition. If the principals and the commissioner agree that the appeal has merit, the student will be reinstated. If any one of them disagrees, then the matter can be forwarded to the VHSL Executive Director for further review. (In addition, the two principals may agree to reduce (but not completely eliminate) a multi-game suspension.) If the appeal is escalated to the VHSL Executive Director, the Executive Director has the power to sustain or deny the appeal.
Preparing and submitting an effective appeal to a multi-game suspension based on an in-game ejection is not a simple process. It needs to be supported with compelling evidence that can include multiple witness statements and analysis of video footage. Student-athlete Attorney Advisor Joseph D. Lento has years of experience gathering, organizing, and presenting this kind of evidence in clear, forceful, and effective ways. If your student-athlete has been wrongfully ejected and punished for alleged in-game behavior that you believe should be reversed, contact Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team for help.
Penalties for Steroid Use
The VHSL Handbook imposes a two-year period of ineligibility for any student who is found to have used anabolic steroids that were not prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition. The student-athlete's principal and VHSL division superintendent are the ones who make this determination.
This, as with other eligibility determinations, may be subject to appeal. Given the severity of the potential eligibility ban, if your student has been accused of unapproved anabolic steroid use, you should contact Joseph D. Lento as soon as possible to discuss the situation.
Student Transfer Issues
The VHSL has developed rules that are specifically designed “to discourage recruiting and transfers for athletic/activity reasons.” As a result, student-athletes who transfer high schools after enrolling in 9th grade may face serious eligibility issues at their new schools.
Student-athletes who transfer high schools as a result of a legitimate change of residence by their family will be immediately eligible to compete at their new school, except that if they transfer during postseason play they will not be eligible to compete during that postseason. The VHSL Handbook emphasizes that the “entire family must make the change,” that they bring all of their household furnishings with them, and that the move must be intended to be permanent. Principals from both the student-athlete's old school and new school must complete a form and acknowledge that the student meets the transfer requirements (or any exceptions).
A student-athlete who transfers high schools without a change of residence will not be eligible to compete for 365 calendar days from the date of transfer. If the family changes residence to the zone served by the student's new school during that 365-day period, the student will become eligible immediately upon his parents or guardians establishing their residency at the new home.
Limited grounds for appeals to the 365-day transfer rule exist. An “undue hardship” waiver is one type. This can apply where the conditions causing the student to be ineligible are beyond the student's control. These can include situations involving a “broken home,” the death of the student's parents or guardians, abandonment, and “other exceptional emergency reasons.” Foreign students who qualify as refugees may also be entitled to a waiver, as well as students who received incorrect advice from a school official.
Where your student-athlete is facing a prolonged period of ineligibility due to a school transfer, contact Joseph D. Lento for help. Planning school transfers in advance, together with a legitimate change of family residence, can help eliminate the possibility of an extended period of ineligibility. In the event a change of residence isn't possible, and hardship or other potential appeal conditions may exist, Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Team can help you appeal for and secure a waiver from the VHSL.
Joseph D. Lento Can Help Keep Your Student-Athlete Competing
If your student-athlete has been declared ineligible to compete in high school sports in Virginia, whether by their school or by the VHSL, contact Joseph D. Lento to discuss your situation. He and the Lento Law Firm Team have years of experience representing high school student-athletes all over the United States with issues similar to yours. They understand how the VHSL Handbook rules and regulations work, and are experienced at preparing for, submitting, and presenting appeals where the facts exist to support them. Call Joseph D. Lento today at 888.535.3686 or through the Lento Law Firm's online contact form to discuss your student-athlete's situation and learn how they can help.
