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 28 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.