STUDENT-ATHLETE ELIGIBILITY RULES AND REGULATIONS
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ATHLETIC LEAGUE STUDENT-ATHLETE ELIGIBILITY RULES AND
REGULATIONS MUST BE CONSIDERED WHEN REVIEWING MATTERS PERTAINING TO A
STUDENT-ATHLETE'S PARTICIPATION IN ATHLETIC EVENTS WHEN HE/SHE REPRESENTS A NEW
YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL.
THE PRINCIPAL HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ENFORCING THE RULES AND REGULATIONS
SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION.
THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR SHALL BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR REVIEWING, MAINTAINING AND
ORGANIZING IN AN AUDITABLE FASHION THE ELIGIBILITY RECORDS OF ALL PARTICIPATING
PSAL STUDENT-ATHLETES FOR THE PURPOSE OF INSURING THAT EACH STUDENT-ATHLETE IS
IN COMPLIANCE WITH THESE REQUIREMENTS.
RECRUITMENT
It is the policy of the Department of Education that no school through any of
its officers or by any other means shall directly or indirectly induce any
student to sever connections with his/her school or to transfer schools for
athletic purposes.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
1. The Eligibility Rules and Regulations shall apply uniformly to all high
school students in the New York City Public Schools.
2. The Principal and the Athletic Director shall be responsible for the
examination of records to determine a student's eligibility in all sports. These
records shall be subject to an audit by the PSAL.
3. A student is eligible to participate in the PSAL interscholastic sports
program immediately upon lawful registration and entry into a New York City
Public High School that offers such a program, provided the student meets the
standards as set forth by the Eligibility Rules and Regulations, with the
following exceptions:
3.1 Any transferring student who was on an active roster at a public high
school at any time during the year prior to the date of transfer, shall be
ineligible to represent the school transferred to, in that sport, for a period
of one year from the date of transfer, unless the student can demonstrate that
the transfer is the result of an official change of residence by his/her parents
or legal guardians or the result of a legal change in guardians.
3.2 If a student was on a team's active roster in a sport in any high school
(public, parochial or private), that student may not participate in the same
sport during the same season, for any other team.
4. A student may participate on one or more teams but only for the school in
which he/she is a full-time student.
5. An athlete may only participate on one team per sports' season (Fall,
Winter and Spring). This rule shall not prevent a student from giving up one
sport and competing in another sport in the same season. However, the athlete
must drop off the team prior to the second scheduled PSAL contest in order to be
allowed to transfer teams. If he/she does so, he/she may not return to compete
in the first sport during that school year. When two sports are overlapping, a
student may represent his/her school in only one of the sports. If a season is
lengthened due to post-season play, a student-athlete may receive credit for 25%
of the practice requirements needed to compete in the second sport (as specified
in the PSAL Sports Standards for Interscholastic Competition).
6. Eligibility of any student to compete in a postponed game shall be
determined as of the date on which the game is actually played.
7. A student must comply with the City-wide Standards of Disciplinary and
Intervention Measures.
8. A student who is enrolled in the PSAL sports program must comply with each
of the PSAL athletic eligibility requirements with respect to the timely
submission of completed medicals and parental consent forms, academics, age,
attendance, and good citizenship.
9. Scholastic Eligibility:
9.1. The 4+1 Rule-A student must pass four credit bearing
subjects (not four credits) and physical education, if taken, in the most recent
final marking period (January or June). An eligible student-athlete must pass
four credit bearing subjects and physical education the marking period closest
to December 1st or April 15th to continue his/her eligibility. Schools on cycle
marking systems shall use the final grade of the cycle closest to January 31st
and June 30th for determining final grades at the end of the term. Schools on
cycle marking systems shall use the grades of the cycle closest to December 1st
in the fall term and April 15th in the spring term for gaining or maintaining
eligibility.
Entering freshmen (first year in grade 9) are academically
eligible until the 2nd report card is issued.
9.2. If two Physical Education classes are taken, at least one must be
passed.
9.3. The date all report cards are issued in a school at the end of a marking
period shall be the official date for determining eligibility.
9.4. At least two of the four subjects passed must be major subjects
(English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Foreign Language or Science).
9.5. A student may substitute one non-credit remedial class for which a
passing grade has been given for one of the minor subjects in the 4+1 rule
9.6. The 8 Credit Rule-A student must accumulate a minimum
of eight credits (not including physical education) for the two semesters prior
to the eligibility period. Night School, Summer School and P.M. School is
included in this calculation. This rule will be in effect beginning with a
student's third semester in high school.
9.7 When evaluating athletic eligibility for 9th or 10th grade students
programmed for 90-minute double periods in Literacy and Mathematics, Athletic
Directors can count each passing double period as 2 subjects toward the 4+1 rule
and 2 credits toward the 8 credit rule.
9.8. When a student has completed the requirements for graduation, the
student may substitute any credit-bearing course offered by the school in place
of the subjects listed in 9.4.
9.9. A student in his/her final year may take fewer than four classes and
physical education provided that the classes taken are the only ones needed to
fulfill graduation requirements.
9.10. Requirements for credit-bearing coursework are waived for special
education students participating in alternate assessments. All other eligibility
requirements apply.
9.11. Scholastic eligibility at the beginning of each term shall be
determined by the final grades of the previous term. Grades that are earned in
summer school, and accepted by the home school, shall be counted as grades for
the previous June. If a student is registered in a PM school or evening school,
only the final grade is used for eligibility.
9.12. A student who is ineligible may become scholastically eligible by
passing four credit bearing subjects (not 4 credits) and physical education
during the marking period closest to December 1st and April 15th, exclusive of
the first marking period in the fall and spring terms when three marking periods
are used per term, provided a student fulfills the 8 credit rule requirements
listed in 9.6.
9.13. In non-traditional high schools, a student must pass subjects equated
to Math, English, Social Studies, Science, Foreign Language and Physical
Education (4 academic subjects plus 1 Physical Education). These requirements
are needed in order to maintain and/or establish eligibility for participation
on a PSAL interscholastic team. Evidence of meeting these requirements must be
shown on the report cards issued closest to the following dates: December 1st,
January 31st, April 15th and June 30th. The date the evaluations are issued in
the schools shall be the official date for determining eligibility.
9.14. A scholastically ineligible student may practice with the team as an
incentive for him/her to establish eligibility. Any student who is
scholastically ineligible at the start of the season, or becomes scholastically
ineligible, may practice with the team provided the student is on the roster as
"Inactive". If a student cannot reestablish eligibility by the end of the
season, the student is not permitted to practice with the team. All athletes
listed on the roster, as inactive, may not participate in scrimmages, non league
games or regularly scheduled games.
10. Attendance Requirements:
10.1. At the end of each marking period a student must achieve, at a minimum,
80% attendance for that marking period in order to be considered for athletic
eligibility. The 80% minimum attendance requirement refers to attendance in
school and not to attendance in specific classes. The 80% attendance
requirement is not cumulative.
10.2. A student must be present in school and must attend all assigned
classes in order to participate in any team practice, scrimmage, league or
non-league game, meet, contest or try-out on that day. Exceptions to this rule
may be granted by the school Principal on a case by case basis. Bona
fide medical absence documented by a physician's statement is an exception.
Absence due to the death of a father, mother, grandparent or sibling may be
approved to a maximum of five school days based upon the submission of
documentation to the school Principal. Absences due to court appearances may be
approved upon submission of documentation to the school Principal.
10.3. A student with less than 80% attendance at the end of any marking
period is ineligible, but can establish attendance eligibility when the next
report card or evaluation is issued.
10.4. A student who has been declared ineligible for failure to meet the 80%
minimum attendance requirement and who establishes eligibility when the next
report card is issued must maintain a minimum of 80% attendance for every
consecutive ten-day period of required school attendance following the issuance
of said report card for the duration of the term. When a student fails to meet
this requirement, he/she immediately becomes ineligible for the remainder of the
term. Eligibility for the subsequent term is based on the 80% minimum attendance
requirement set forth in section 10.1.
11. Suspended Students:
Suspended students are not eligible to participate in any team practice,
scrimmage, league or non-league game, meet, contest or try-out during the period
of their suspension.
12. Age/Grade Eligibility:
12.1. A student shall be eligible for high school athletic competition in a
sport for up to four consecutive seasons beginning with his/her entry into the
9th grade.
12.2. A student shall be eligible for varsity competition in grades 9, 10, 11
and 12 until his/her 19th birthday. A student who attains the age of 19 on or
after July 1 may continue to participate during that school year in all varsity
sports.
12.3. A student shall only be eligible for junior varsity competition in
grades 9 and 10 until his/her 17th birthday. A student who attains the age of 17
on or after July 1 may continue to participate during that school year in all
sports.
12.4. A student may not represent a high school as a freshman in athletics
later than one year from the date he/she enters high school; as a sophomore
later than two years from the date he/she enters; and as a junior later than
three years from the date he/she enters.
12.5. The date a student is enrolled in the ninth grade is used for the
purpose of determining athletic eligibility. Enrollment for any part of a
semester counts as a full semester of athletic eligibility.
12.6. If a student has graduated from any high school, or equivalent thereof,
he/she may not represent any New York City Public School at any time.
13. Ineligible Student Penalties:
13.1 For team sports, if an ineligible student is listed on the roster as
active, and/or participates in any interscholastic contest, the team
with the ineligible player shall forfeit the contest with the following
exceptions:
13.1.1 When an ineligible student is discovered after the terminal date of
scheduled league competition (regular season), the student shall be removed from
the team without forfeiture of the contest.
13.1.2 If the offending team has gone on to compete in the playoffs they will
forfeit their last playoff contest (including the championship).
13.2 For individual sports (Swimming, Track & Field, Gymnastics,
Wrestling and Fencing), if an ineligible student is listed on the roster as
active, and/or participates in any interscholastic contest, only the
score(s) of the ineligible student will be disallowed.
AMATEUR STATUS
A student who represents a school in an interscholastic sport shall be an
amateur in that sport. An amateur is one who engages in athletic competition
solely for the physical, mental and social benefits. A student shall forfeit
amateur status by:
1. i) Competing for money or other compensation. Allowable travel, meals and
lodging expenses may be approved.
2. ii) Receiving an award or prize of monetary value as a result of
participation in an event that has not been sanctioned by the New York State
Public High Schools Athletic Association.
3. iii) Capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving gifts of monetary value.
Scholarships to institutes of higher learning are specifically exempted.
4. iv) Signing a professional playing contract in a sport.
14. Eligibility Review Committee:
14.1. The Eligibility Review Committee (The Committee) is empowered to act on
questions regarding eligibility except where a PSAL sport specific
rule may apply. The Committee shall be made up of The PSAL Director,
the PSAL Eligibility advisor, and a Senior PSAL Coordinator.
14.2. Any coach, athletic director, or parent, with the consent of the
Principal, may appeal an eligibility decision in writing by submitting a Request
For An Eligibility Review of a Student Athlete along with supporting
documentation to the Committee. Parents/Guardians are encouraged to request the
assistance of the school's Principal and athletic director when requesting an
eligibility review from the Committee.
Click here for: Request For an Eligibility Review of a Student-Athlete, form "A"
14.3. When a student's eligibility is questioned, the school's Principal
shall be requested to verify the student's record. All evidence prepared by the
Principal in regard to the student shall be submitted to the Committee, which
shall have full power to make a decision in regard to the student's eligibility
for participation in the New York City Public Schools Athletic League
program.
14.4. If sufficient evidence is presented by a school Principal to the
Committee to show that a student's failure to enter competition in a sport
during one or more seasons due to illness, accident, or other such circumstance
beyond the control of the student, the student's eligibility may be considered
for extension provided that the student meets the age and academic requirements
for participation. Academic failures that result in a student's need for a
5th year in school may not be beyond the student's control and therefore may not
be grounds for eligibility.
14.5. The Committee's decision may be appealed. (See Procedures for
Requesting an Appeal of the Eligibility Review of a Student-Athlete.)
PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING AN APPEAL OF THE ELIGIBILITY REVIEW OF A STUDENT-ATHLETE
All appeals and requests for information should be sent to:
Arnold H. Nager, Hearing Officer,
44-36 Vernon Boulevard, 4th Floor,
Long Island City, NY 11101.
Applications may be sent by fax, 718-729-1106.
A. Those appealing the Committee's decision must submit a Request
for an Appeal of the Eligibility Review of a Student-Athlete form.
Applications for an appeal must include all pertinent documentation.
Click here for: Request
For an Appeal of the Eligibility Review of a Student-Athlete, form "B"
B. The Hearing Officer will inform the parties if testimony will be
necessary, or whether he will make his decision based on the record alone.
C. If the Hearing Officer requires testimony, a hearing shall be convened
within seven days from receipt of the written application unless the Hearing
Officer determines that extenuating circumstances exist and the appeal will be
heard on more than seven days notice.
D. If a hearing is required, each party shall be accorded an opportunity to
make written and/or oral presentations on all appropriate issues, to present
relevant documents and to call and question witnesses. A list of witnesses shall
be supplied to the Hearing Officer at least two days prior to the hearing in
order to arrange for their appearance.
E. At the request of one of the parties, a witness may be sworn in or asked
to affirm that he/she will testify truthfully before presenting information to
the Hearing Officer.
F. The Hearing Officer may utilize electronic or other recording procedures
for the preservation of oral testimony.
G. The parties to an appeal shall be forwarded a copy of the initial
determination rendered by the Hearing Officer within five school days of the
submission of the appeal if there is no hearing, or within two school days of
the hearing. Thereafter, a formal decision letter shall be issued within five
school days of the issuance of the decision. Complete case reports will only be
issued in the event that the appellant informs the Hearing Officer, within
fifteen calendar days from the date of the decision letter that it wishes to
pursue litigation.
H. The decision of the Hearing Officer is final and constitutes the
administrative action of the Chancellor.
