From the AHSAA Handbook
SECTION 9. ACADEMIC RULE.
Requirements
(a) Students entering the 10th and 11th and 12th grades must have passed
during the last two semesters in attendance and summer school, if
applicable, at least six new Carnegie units with a minimum composite
numerical average of 70 in those six units.
(1) Four core curriculum courses must be included in those units
passed and averaged. (English, mathematics, science and social
studies are core curriculum courses. Any combination of these
courses is accepted.)
(2) Any student that accumulates more than four units of core courses
per year may earn less than the required four core courses during
the next school year and be eligible as long as the student remains
on track for graduation with his/her class.
(b) Students entering the 8th and 9th grades must have passed during the
last two semesters in attendance and summer school, if applicable, at least
five new subjects with a minimum composite numerical average of 70 in
those five subjects and must have been promoted to the next grade.
Note: A new unit is one that has not been previously passed. A semester
is half of a school year as defined by the local school system.
(c) Students entering the 7th grade for the first time are eligible.
(d) Students in high school must complete a STAR Sportsmanship online
interactive course one time during their high school careers. Middle/junior
high school students must take the Advanced Middle/Junior High STAR
component. Students taking The Advanced Middle/Junior High component
will not have to take another component in high school. A certificate of
completion must be kept on file in the school principal’s office along with
other eligibility items.
Cheerleaders must also complete the course one
time during their high school years.
Guidelines
1. Eligibility may be determined before the start of each new school
year or at the beginning of the second semester. A student that is
academically eligible at the beginning of the school year remains eligible
for the remainder of that school year so far as grades are concerned. A
student that regains eligibility at the beginning of the second semester
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remains eligible for the remainder of the second semester so far as
grades are concerned.
2. Students declared ineligible at the beginning of a school year may
regain their eligibility at the end of the first semester (or trimester)
by meeting the academic requirements listed above during their last
two semesters (three trimesters or 2 trimesters and one semester)
in attendance and summer school, if applicable. The regained
eligibility of any student may be determined any time after the end
of the first semester (or trimester), but all course requirements
used to determine the eligibility must be completed no later
than the fifth day of the second semester (or second trimester).
A student that regains eligibility at the end of the first trimester may
not participate in interscholastic athletics until 88 days of the school
year have been completed.
3. Only one unit (or subject) of physical education per year may be
counted.
4. A maximum of two units (or subjects) earned in an approved summer
school may be counted. If a unit (or subject) is repeated in summer
school, the higher numerical grade for that unit (or subject) may be
used to compute the composite grade average.
5. An accredited correspondence course may be accepted by a school system but
must be completed and grades posted to transcript before Sept. 1 and may be one of
the maximum two summer units counted for eligibility purposes.
6. Units earned through Credit Recovery may also be among the maximum
two summer units counted and must be completed before Sept. 1. If
Credit Recovery is used to make up Carnegie units, those units can
only be accepted if they are earned through a State Department of
Education-approved program.
7. For eligibility purposes, special recitation, extra work, make-up work,
tests, review, etc., may not be given for the purpose of making a
student eligible.
8. To be eligible, all students (including repeaters and hold-backs) must
be enrolled in a specified number of new units at the school they
represent.
(a) 9th, 10th and 11th graders must be carrying at least six new units
(three per semester on a 4x4 block schedule).
(b) 12th graders that are on track for graduation with more than the
required number of units earned must be carrying at least four
new units for the school year (two units per semester on a 4x4
block schedule).
(c) 7th and 8th graders must be carrying at least five new subjects.
9. The eligibility of a student that has attended another school during the
preceding year must be established by a transcript from that school
before the student is permitted to participate at the new school.