High school student-athletes willingly take on the additional work of getting and staying in shape, learning and perfecting their skills, and practicing and competing with their teammates – all without any reward except for the satisfaction of having challenged themselves. On top of this, they have to attend school and make sure they stay current with their studies. These remarkable young people are also developing time management and work habits that will follow them through the rest of their lives.
We cheer our student-athletes on, and as a parent or guardian, you probably do a lot more than that. Making sure they have the gear they need to compete, getting them to their practices and games, and helping them from time to time with their homework – it's really a team effort. There is also another thing you can do to help your student-athlete, and that's to learn a bit about the eligibility requirements for high school sports in West Virginia. By doing so, you can help make sure your student-athlete stays eligible to compete throughout their high school career.
High school sports in West Virginia are governed by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission (WVSSAC). The WVSSAC has a comprehensive set of rules and regulations that apply to its more than 120 member high schools across the state. While the WVSSAC has put together a handbook with all of its rules and regulations, it can be difficult to sort through it to find the ones that relate to student-athlete eligibility. That's why we at the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have drafted this summary of the main eligibility issues that apply to student-athletes in West Virginia. If, after reviewing it, you have questions about your student-athlete's situation, contact us to find out how we can help.
Age-Limit and Semester-Limit Restrictions and Waiver Requests
Student-athletes remain eligible to compete in high school sports in West Virginia until they turn 19. If they turn 19 on or after July 1, they can continue to compete through the next school year. If they turn 19 before July 1, they are not eligible to compete during the next school year.
In addition, student-athletes have four consecutive years (eight consecutive semesters) of eligibility, beginning with the first semester of 9th grade. If a student attends school for ten days in any semester, the student-athlete is considered to have been in school for purposes of using that semester's eligibility.
Any eligibility rule may be waived by the WVSSAC Board of Directors “when it determines the rule fails to accomplish the purpose for which it is intended,” as well as in cases of “extreme and undue hardship.” For waivers of the semester-limit rule, the Board may grant a waiver where a 9th grader “did not stay in continuous enrollment because of personal illness, or no school was available, or because of other under hardship reasons.” In addition, the Board may consider a waiver where the student-athlete did not participate in any sports during the semester or semesters for which the waiver is requested. That said, no student-athlete will be allowed to participate for more than four seasons in any one high school sport.
Academic Eligibility Requirements and Waiver Requests
Student-athletes must take at least “four content area courses towards graduation” in order to be eligible to compete during any semester. A student who fails to meet this minimum may attend summer school “and have eligibility reinstated if the student meets the standards at the conclusion of summer school.”
Students must also maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in order to compete in interscholastic sports. This is measured on a semester-by-semester basis so that if a student-athlete fails to achieve a 2.0 during one semester, they will be ineligible to participate in athletics during the next semester, except that if their GPA is at least 2.0 at the mid-point of the next semester, they will regain eligibility.
In addition, summer school classes can be used to raise a student-athlete's GPA for the previous spring semester. The summer class grades don't replace any of the grades received during the spring semester, however. Instead, the student-athlete's summer school grades will be combined with their spring semester grades to determine their semester GPA.
These requirements may be waived by the WVSSAC Board under certain circumstances. If you have questions about your student-athlete's eligibility based on their academic performance, contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team for help. We can review your situation and help you determine whether a waiver request may be effective and, if so, can help you gather the information necessary to make the waiver request as compelling as possible.
Another way the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help is in situations where one or more teachers may be treating your student-athlete unfairly, issuing grades that aren't consistent with your student-athlete's classroom performance. This is typically a very sensitive situation, but our student-athlete attorneys have the experience to help you determine the most effective way to raise it with your student-athlete's teachers or with school administration.
School Disciplinary Defense
Student-athletes spend more time in class and in school than they do in practice or in competition. Schools need to maintain discipline, and as a result a student-athlete may be more likely to lose eligibility because of school-related misconduct than for any other reason except possibly grades.
All schools have handbooks or codes of conduct that instruct students on how the school expects them to behave. These frequently include procedures for investigating and resolving misconduct claims. Schools also are given a lot of discretion when it comes to disciplining students so that even if a student-athlete isn't suspended or expelled from school, the school still may prohibit the student-athlete from participating in extracurricular activities, including athletics.
Unfortunately, schools don't always investigate or decide on misconduct claims fairly. Busy school administrators may not have the time or training to conduct a full and fair investigation of serious misconduct claims. Hearings might be conducted in an unfair manner, with questionable evidence or testimony being used against the student.
This is why it can make all the difference to have the help of an experienced attorney from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team if your student-athlete is accused of serious misconduct at their school. Our student-athlete attorneys can initiate their own investigations into misconduct claims, getting the “rest of the story” where the school has failed to do so. We can also help question witnesses and evidence being used against your student and can introduce evidence in their defense. Don't make the mistake of trying to defend your student-athlete against serious misconduct claims on your own; you need the help of the experienced student-athlete attorneys from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team.
Discipline Defense for Behavior During Games
Student-athletes ejected from competition on sportsmanship grounds will be suspended for at least one competition, with the actual number being 10% of the number of regular season competitions allowed for that sport. A second ejection will result in suspension for 20% of the season competitions. A third ejection will result in a 365-day suspension. Ejections may not be appealed.
However, in cases where the ejected student-athlete “believes the ejection was improper,” they can ask their principal to review it. If the principal agrees, then the principal may submit a WVSSAC Ejection Review Form to the Executive Director of the WVSSAC but must do so within 24 hours of the ejection. A typical situation where such a review might be appropriate is where there is video footage that shows that the official made a mistake when ejecting one student-athlete instead of another. This can happen in situations where there are many players involved in the situation that resulted in the ejection.
Because the review request must be processed by the principal and received by the WVSSAC Executive Director so quickly, you need to act at once if your student-athlete was unfairly ejected from a competition. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you with questions you might have, but you need to contact us ASAP if you want our student-athlete attorneys to help.
Transfer Eligibility Requirements
Student-athletes are eligible to compete at the “school located in the attendance zone in which the student's parents reside.” They can also change schools and may be eligible to compete immediately at their new school if their family has lived in their current home for at least one academic year and then “make a bona fide change of residence to a new school zone during the academic year.” The student-athlete may also elect to stay at their current school and not transfer schools and will remain eligible at the current school.
If a transferring student-athlete has begun participating in a sport during one season at their original school, however, they may not participate in that sport at their new school for the remainder of that season.
If the student-athlete's family has lived in their current home for less than a year and then makes a “bona fide change of residence,” the student-athlete has the same options as if the family had moved after living in their home for more than a year, except that if the student decides to remain at their original school, they will not be eligible to compete there during the next academic year.
Student-athletes whose parents divorce will be eligible to compete at the school located in the district in which the parent with court-ordered custody lives. If the student changes custodial parents and the other parent lives in another attendance zone, the student-athlete will be ineligible to compete at the high school located in the other parent's attendance zone for 365 days after transferring.
Otherwise, a student who transfers to a high school outside of their attendance zone must wait 365 days before they can compete at their new school. This includes otherwise acceptable transfers where the WVSSAC determines the student-athlete transferred for “athletic reasons,” which include “seeking a superior athletic team,” or a team “consistent with the student's ability,” or where the student is trying to avoid “conflict with the philosophy or action” of a coach or other school official regarding athletics.
As you can see, the WVSSAC transfer rules are complicated. If your family is considering a move to a new home, or your student-athlete is considering changing schools, you need to plan well in advance to determine how the change may affect your student-athlete's eligibility to compete. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you review your situation and your proposed change and decide what the best way is to keep your student-athlete competing.
The Lento Law Firm Can Help Keep Your Student-Athlete Competing
The student-athlete attorneys who are part of the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have been helping student-athletes keep and regain their eligibility in high schools all over the country. Our attorneys understand the sometimes complicated rules and regulations that apply to high school sports and are ready to help you help your student stay eligible to compete. Where the school is acting unfairly towards your student, whether it's a discipline or a grading issue, we can help make sure that your student's rights are respected and defended. Where you're considering moving to a new home, we can help make sure your student-athlete continues to be eligible to compete. And where a waiver request may be appropriate, we can help you and your student-athlete put together a strong and compelling request.
If your student-athlete's eligibility is threatened, call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or reach out to us online to set up a confidential consultation. The four years of high school go by fast, and you want your student-athlete to be eligible for every minute of competition possible. We are here to help!
