Eligibility
• All students must be a bonafide high school student in grades 9 – 12 carrying a full academic load of at least five (5) units of credit per nine (9) week grading period.
• He/She will have spent no more than eight (8) consecutive semesters in any high school.
• An athlete may not have reached his/her nineteenth (19th) birthday prior to September 1st of the current school year.
• The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools has made provisions for “home schooled” students to be eligible for athletic competition. The provisions are described in a manual that the Athletic Director has. Before any home schooled athlete would be eligible, the Principal and Athletic Director must jointly agree that all T.A.P.P.S. criteria have and are being met by the home school program.
• All athletes must have on file, the PARENTAL CONSENT FORM, the PHYSICIAN’S CERTIFICATE FORM, the EMERGENCY MEDICAL RELEASE FORM, and the STUDENT INSURANCE VERIFICATION FORM, with the Athletic Director before he/she is eligible to begin participation in any formal practices or contests.
• The academic progress of every athlete will be evaluated eight (8) times during the school year. MID-QUARTER grades and QUARTER grades will be used to determine eligibility. (Note: At the end of a Semester, the Quarter grade will be used to determine eligibility, not the Semester grade.) All athletes must have at least a 70% grade average or above in all courses in a given grading period with NO F’s recorded. In the case of incompletes, the athlete will be encouraged by the coaches to complete the necessary work needed to remove the incomplete grade before practicing or competing. Sometimes incompletes may be considered as an “F” if the grade is too low to be pulled up, and would be counted in the average and therefore make an athlete ineligible. Written notification of incomplete work being completed may be required by a coach before an athlete may resume practice.
• Any student/athlete declared ineligible based on the above standard will be required to follow the procedures and the time table listed below.
a) At start of school year until Mid-quarter 1 – NO GAME participation, may start to practice at the coach’s discretion. (Based on ”Carry Over Rule”)
b) All Mid-quarter grades – if declared ineligible, NO GAME participation (including PEP assemblies) until the end of the Quarter, but may continue to practice at the coach’s discretion.
c) All Qt grades – if declared ineligible, NO GAME participation until the next mid-quarter, may continue to practice at the coach’s discretion.
d) The following academic requirements must also be met to maintain eligibility;
1) Must successfully meet all religion class requirements.
2) Must successfully complete all Book-A-Month projects. Failure of either of these requirements will result in athlete being deemed ineligible.
e) If an athlete is declared ineligible during a sports season, he/she faces the possibility of being dropped from the team. (See also Lettering requirements, and awards)
• Upon the completion of a Quarter grading period, there is a brief grace period for the Principal and the Athletic Director to compile the ineligibility list. Since mid-quarters are usually released in the middle of a week, athletes will be allowed to finish the week before ineligibility would begin. (A student becomes ineligible beginning on the 5th calendar day following the date grades are due. In the case of a vacation break students are ineligible beginning on the 1st day back from break.) In the case of an athlete becoming eligible, said athlete could participate in games once eligibility has been determined by the Principal and Athletic Director. (An athlete could be reinstated as early as the day grades are due.)
• Fourth (4th) quarter grades will be used to determine eligibility for the first (1st) quarter for all returning athletes desiring to compete in a Fall sport. Summer school grades DO NOT affect this rule. (Note: all fall athletes’ grades are checked) The only exceptions to this rule is for middle school athletes.
Middle School Academic Eligibility
Any 8th grader who is participating as a member of a JV team is subject to High School eligibility rules for that season.
Middle School students who receive a failing mid-quarter or quarter grade will be deemed ineligible for game participation for a period of two (2) weeks. They will be re-evaluated at the end of the two-week period on Friday. If a major test/graded item will not be included in the average until the Monday or Tuesday of week three (3), the evaluation may wait the extra two (2) days to include the test/graded item in the average. The athlete must get an eligibility form from the Middle School Principal, get it signed by all his/her seven (7) period teachers, and return it to the Middle School Principal by 3:45 on the 2nd week Friday. The athlete may not compete during this two (2) week period, but may practice at the coach’s discretion. Failure to meet academic standards following the two (2) week suspension will result in the athlete being declared ineligible for the remainder of the grading period.
• No student/athlete shall be allowed to be absent from a class (i.e. early dismissal for travel) for interscholastic activity while he/she is doing failing work in that class. Athletes not dressing out and fully participating for a Physical Education class on game day will be declared ineligible for that day’s contest.
• No ineligible athlete or student manager may miss all or part of a school day to travel with a team.
• In the case of an unusual situation, a coach may appeal for special consideration to the Athletic Director and the Principal. Upon such appeal, the Athletic Director will meet with the coach and the Principal to determine the validity of the appeal. The Principal and Athletic Director, in consultation, will determine if the special consideration request is to be granted.
TRANSFER RULE:
Any new student/athlete, grades 10-12, enrolling in Dallas Lutheran School before the first regular class day and had participated on either a Sub-Varsity or Varsity program must file a transfer form before competing for Dallas Lutheran School. Any student/athlete transferring from one school to another after September 15th of the current school year will be declared INELIGIBLE for 21 calendar days from the date of official enrollment in the new school. ALL T.A.P.P.S. member schools shall use and file with their District President the transfer form furnished in the T.A.P.P.S. manual. See the Athletic Director for this form and procedures.