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NJSIAA Eligibility Regulations

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Warren Hills is an NJSIAA member school.  The Regulations listed below are not the complete NJSIAA Handbook, but are excerpts of the more commonly used rules.  To access the complete NJSIAA Handbook click HERE.




 

Article V - Eligibility of Athletes

Section 1 - Enrollment Requirement

A student, to be eligible for participation in the interscholastic athletic program of a member school, must be enrolled in that school and must meet all the eligibility requirements of the Constitution, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations, of the NJSIAA.

CL 1 - 

Students being home-schooled (by parents or other parties) are not eligible because they are not enrolled.  Properly enrolled student on Home Instruction provided by the Board of Education are eligible in the student satisfies Section 4.E.

 

Section 4 C. Age

An athlete becomes ineligible for high school athletics if he/she attainsthe age of nineteen prior to September 1.  However, any athlete attaining age nineteen on or after September 1 shall be eligible forthe ensuing school year.

CL 1 -

Junior High/9th Grade regulations provide that a student becomes ineligible for 9th grade athletics if they reach age sixteen (16) prior to September 1 of that school year.  However, said students may participate above the 9th grade athletic level based upon a waiver asset forth in CL 4 noted below. 

CL 4 -

In order to assure the opportunity for eight consecutive semesters of interscholastic eligibility, member schools may request waivers to permit students who are enrolled in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and who are otherwise academically eligible, to participate on the junior varsity or varsity teams where such students will be sixteen (16) years of age or older upon entrance into the 9th grade prior to September1st.  Guidance Departments/School Administrators of elementary schools should provide the Athletic Director with ages of all students so they can be assured of four (4) years of eligibility prior to becoming ineligible at age nineteen.


Section 4 E. Credits

  1. To be eligible for athletic competition during the first semester (September 1 to January 31) of the 10th grade or higher, or the second year of attendance in the secondary school or beyond, a pupil must have passed 25% of the credits (27.5) [30 beginning with the Class of 2014] required by the State of New Jersey for graduation (110) [120 beginning with the Class of 2014], during the immediately preceding academic year.
  2. To be eligible for athletic competition during the second semester (Feb. 1 to June 30) of the 9th grade or higher, a pupil must have passed the equivalent of 12-1/2% of the credits (13.75) [15 beginning with the Class of 2014] required by New Jersey for graduation (110) [120 beginning with the Class of 2014] at the close of the preceding semester (Jan. 31). Full-year courses shall be equated as one-half of the total credits to be gained for the full year to determine credits passed during the immediately preceding semester.
    1. CL 1 The NJSIAA does not establish grading policies or standards for granting credits. The local school’s Board of Education has the exclusive authority to address such matters within the parameters of the State Board of Education guidelines. Therefore, the NJSIAA will not waive, either the standards set by a member school or the minimum standards set forth in Article V, Section 4.E except as provided in Section 4.F (1).
    2. CL 2 The credit status of a transferred student, determined by the previous school, may not be changed by the present school.
    3. CL 3 There is no provision for make-up work for credits for second semester.
    4. CL 4 Waivers will not be considered for a senior who does not attain 13.75 [15 beginning with the Class of 2014] credits and who fails a subject in his/her first semester, unless that senior is passing all subjects in the subsequent marking period.
  3. The above paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to incoming students from grammar school (8th grade).
  4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph 1 and 2 above, a pupil who is eligible at the beginning of a sports season shall be allowed to finish that season.
    1. CL 1 According to regulations of the New Jersey State Board of Education, credit must be assigned equally to all secondary school courses. Thus, courses which at one time were considered “minor,” e.g., physical education, art, music, industrial arts, etc., must be included in the determination of academic requirements.
    2. CL 2 Graduation Requirements – The provisions of Article V, Section 4.E (1) and (2) of the Bylaws will not be waived even though a school allows a student to carry only those courses necessary to meet minimal graduation diploma credit requirements.
      1. a. If a student has received a diploma, he/she is ineligible. However, he/she may continue to represent his/her school until the official end of that semester–either January 31 or June 30.
      2. b. If a student has left school, but re-enrolls, he/she will be eligible thirty (30) calendar days from the date of re-enrollment.
      3. c. If a student has continued enrollment while absent from school, he/she will be eligible provided he/she is enrolled in and attends at least one course.
    3. CL 3 It is recognized that students may accelerate their academic programs during their first three years of secondary schooling. Consequently, such students may be eligible in the second semester of their senior year even when they carry less than 121/2% of the State minimum (13.75 credits) [15 credits beginning with the Class of 2014] during the first semester provided they are meeting their school district’s graduation requirements and are passing all courses in which they are enrolled at the start of the first semester. Seniors who withdraw from courses with a passing grade (wp) will be eligible provided they are carrying sufficient credits for graduation purposes.
    4. CL 4 When a student does not fail a course and/or withdraws granted. A student who enters from an out-of-state school or a foreign passing and is unable to pass the required credits for reasons not under the control of the student, or the school, a waiver shall be country, who has passed all courses in which the student is enrolled, meets the requirements of this Section.
    5. CL 5 Students receiving credits for courses at their previous school may use those credits to satisfy the credit requirements for athletic eligibility even though the present school does not grant credit for same. Such a situation is acceptable only on an immediate basis at the time of the transfer. The student subsequently becomes subject to the requirements of the present school.
    6. CL 6 An athlete, whose education is interrupted after his/her entrance into the 9th grade (4 or 6 yr. high school) or 10th grade (3 yr. high school) and who does not pass the required courses as provided for in Article V, Section 4.E (1) and (2) of the Bylaws at the end of the semester, upon being readmitted at the beginning of the next semester, is ineligible for failure to meet the requirements of this section. Exceptions to this rule are returned servicemen/servicewomen who have been honorably discharged and cases of unavoidable absence due to illness. Substance abuse is not considered as unavoidable absence due to illness; when illegal substance is the reason for not passing the required credits, a waiver will not be granted.
    7. CL 7 An athlete who is ineligible under Article V, Section 4.E (1), may become eligible for the remainder of the winter sports season on February 1 if he/she meets the requirements of Article V, Section 4.E (2).
    8. CL 8 Any summer work for makeup purposes for failed courses, completed and approved by the school before the sixth school day, in the Fall semester, may be used for eligibility purposes.
    9. CL 9 A student who becomes ineligible on account of scholarship at the end of a semester is ineligible for the entire following semester. However, a student eligible to represent his/her school in Winter Sports may continue to do so until the end of that season.
    10. CL 10 A passing grade for a semester can only be used once for eligibility purposes. A student who has a semester’s passing grade in a subject may not repeat that subject during a later semester and use it for eligibility purposes.