As the parent or guardian of a high school student-athlete competing in Washington, DC, you understand how important it is to your student that they remain eligible to compete in their chosen sport or sports. It matters both for their high school career and for their future; the inner drive that pushes a student-athlete to commit to the training, practice, and competition on top of meeting their academic obligations is something that will help them succeed not only in sports but also in life after high school. That's why if your student-athlete's eligibility is in jeopardy, you need to contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for help. Our experienced student-athlete attorneys understand the eligibility rules that apply to students in the District of Columbia and can help your student-athlete stay eligible. Call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to set up a consultation to learn more about how we can help.
In the District of Columbia, high school sports are governed by the DC State Athletic Association (DCSAA). The DCSAA publishes a comprehensive 80+ page handbook that includes the eligibility and other rules that relate to schools, coaches, and athletes, as well as specific rules that apply to the 16 sports that the DCSAA regulates for its more than 50 member schools. It can be difficult to wade through all of this information to find the key points that apply to student-athlete eligibility, so the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has put together this summary of those DCSAA rules that relate to student-athlete eligibility to help parents, guardians, and students understand what the rules are and what to do if the student's eligibility is in jeopardy.
Age-Limit and Semester-Limit Restrictions and Waiver Requests
Assuming they meet all other eligibility requirements, student-athletes in DC remain eligible to compete for their high school teams until they turn 19. Then it depends on when they turn 19: students who turn 19 on or before August 1 are ineligible to compete during that next school year. Those who turn 19 after August 1 are age-eligible to compete throughout that next school year.
Student-athletes have eight consecutive semesters of potential eligibility, beginning with the first semester of 9th grade. This applies even if the student-athlete doesn't begin competing until 10th grade or doesn't compete during any given semester.
The DCSAA will consider waiver requests of these and any other DCSAA rule, regulation, or policy. It typically does so only in extraordinary cases. Waiver requests must address, and ideally meet, all of the following conditions:
- The student-athlete must show that enforcement of the DCSAA rule “will not serve to accomplish the purpose of the rule.”
- Waiving the rule won't offend or compromise the “spirit of the rule.”
- Waiving the rule won't compromise the “principle of educational balance over athletics.”
- A waiver won't “result in a safety risk to teammates or competitors.”
Wavier requests can be submitted by students, parents or guardians, or a school administrator. The request must include all of the information that the DCSAA needs to arrive at a decision, as the DCSAA won't conduct its own investigation of the situation. Note that there is a deadline that applies to waiver requests – they must be submitted “no later than five school days after supplemental rosters are due.”
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you take a look at your student-athlete's situation to determine whether a waiver request may be effective, and in situations where it may be, we can help you put together a compelling request that meets the DCSAA requirements.
Academic Eligibility Standards
Student-athletes must have at least a 2.0 GPA (or its equivalent) “per marking period.” In cases where a DCSAA member school doesn't calculate GPA, the school must certify to the DCSAA that the school does not calculate GPA and that all students from that school participating in DSCAA sports have a “minimum equivalence of a 2.0 GPA and are in good academic standing.”
A student-athlete who fails to meet academic eligibility standards at the end of a marking period remains ineligible until report cards are issued for the next marking period (assuming the student-athlete has met the academic eligibility standards for that next marking period).
Summer school classes can be used to help improve a student-athlete's GPA for the prior school year. Summer classes, however, don't replace failed classes; instead, the grades received during the summer are added to the grades received during the school year, and the GPA is recalculated with the summer grades included.
As with other eligibility matters, waivers may be available in extraordinary situations. If you believe your student-athlete's situation may support a successful waiver request, contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for help. One of our experienced student-athlete attorneys will review your situation with you and discuss ways that we may help your student-athlete continue competing.
School Disciplinary Defense
Student-athletes spend much more time in class than they do practicing or competing. As a result, they're much more likely to end up being sidelined because of in-school discipline than they are for anything they do on the court, field, track, or wherever they're competing. The misconduct can relate to something like alleged cheating or other academic misconduct or to misbehavior during the school day or at school events.
Schools have comprehensive handbooks, honor codes, or other kinds of written disciplinary policies that typically give the school a lot of leeway when determining how it will react to student misconduct. These policies typically include a range of potential consequences, from the very mild all the way up to expulsion. One of the middle-ground punishments that can stop a high school student-athlete from competing is suspension from extracurricular activities. Schools imposing these kinds of discipline aren't bound by the DSCAA. The way they handle disciplinary matters may vary from one school to another.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has helped students across the country, including in the District of Columbia, protect their rights in serious school disciplinary situations. Whether it's academic misconduct or behavioral issues, we understand how school disciplinary processes operate, and we'll team with you and your student to make sure misconduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings are handled in a fair and legal way.
In some cases, we can conduct our own investigation of the alleged misconduct incident. Busy school administrators don't always have the time or the resources to conduct a full investigation of misconduct allegations. Sometimes, further “digging” can unearth “the rest of the story” – information that can make a significant difference in the outcome of a misconduct investigation.
In other cases, we can represent your student-athlete in discussions with the school about the alleged misconduct and in any hearings or meetings that take place that relate to the misconduct allegation. It's important to understand that schools typically have a number of options available when considering how to discipline a student. We've been able to work with school administrators to arrive at effective disciplinary consequences that will keep a student-athlete competing, even in situations where it's been established that misconduct has happened.
You don't have to accept the school's version of alleged misconduct that involves your student-athlete. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you review your options and decide how best to help keep your student-athlete competing.
Discipline Defense for Behavior During Games
The DCSAA reserves the right to “impose any penalties as deemed necessary” for sportsmanship violations. That said, it does provide some guidelines for student-athletes.
If a student-athlete is ejected from a contest on sportsmanship grounds, they're also suspended for the next contest at that level. A second ejection during the same season will result in a five-competition suspension, and the student-athlete will have to meet (together with their coach or a school official) with the DCSAA before they're allowed to compete again.
The DCSAA will consider appeals in sportsmanship ineligibility situations. It may refer the matter to an appeals panel, or the DCSAA may resolve it directly; in either case, the decision on the appeal is final. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team finds that the most effective appeals of sportsmanship ejection issues are ones where there is video evidence showing that the student-athlete was misidentified by the official or if the athlete was ejected for making contact with another player or an official, where the video evidence shows that the contact was unintentional or unavoidable.
School Transfer Eligibility Issues
The DCSAA transfer eligibility rules begin with the idea that a student-athlete who transfers to a new school is ineligible to compete for one year following the transfer. There are a number of exceptions to this general rule, however, that may allow immediate eligibility. Some of the most important ones include:
- Transfers that are “due to a valid change of address.”
- A one-time transfer made during the student-athlete's 9th grade year, except that a student-athlete can't compete on two teams in the same sport in the same school year.
- Transfers that follow the original school dropping a sport or its entire athletic program or where the original school closes.
- Transfers that take place because the student-athlete has been the victim of a violent crime at the original school or if the school is deemed a “persistently dangerous school.”
- Transfers where the student moves in with one parent in a court-ordered separation or divorce custody case.
- Transfers by a 10th, 11th, or 12th-grade student to a school that had previously rejected the student-athlete.
Other exceptions may apply.
The key to an effective transfer, meaning one that will allow the student-athlete to compete at the new school without having to wait a full year, is planning. You don't want to make a transfer and then learn that your student-athlete has lost a year's worth of eligibility.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help. We regularly assist families in situations where their student-athletes are considering making a move to a new school and also where the family is moving to a new home, and a school transfer may be necessary. Contact one of our experienced student-athlete attorneys to discuss your situation. We'll help you do everything possible to keep your student-athlete competing at their new school with no waiting period.
The Lento Law Firm Can Help Keep Your Student-Athlete Competing
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has helped student-athletes avoid eligibility lapses at high schools all across the country, including in the District of Columbia. Our experienced student-athlete attorneys understand the DCSAA rules and procedures, including those relating to eligibility waiver requests and appeals. In school discipline situations, we can investigate on behalf of your student-athlete and work with school administrators to make sure your student is treated fairly throughout the entire disciplinary process.
The four years of high school pass by quickly. Don't risk your student-athlete losing eligibility for any of that time. Call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686, or use our contact form to set up a confidential consultation. We understand how important athletics are to your student, and we're here to listen and help.
