Student Activities Eligibility (Regulations)

In accordance with the policy of the board of education, the following regulation shall govern student activity eligibility requirements.

Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association eligibility rules¹ state that a student is eligible:

1. If the student will not be nineteen years of age before September 1st for athletic competition or if the student will not be 21 years of age before September 1 for non-athletic events. ²
2. If the student has on file, in the principal's or authorized director's office, a physical examination and parent's consent certificate for the present school year. ³
3. If the student has attended classes 90% of the time for the current semester. Exceptions may be made by the principal due to illness, injury, death in the immediate family, or other valid reason. ⁴
4. If the student is passing all subjects in which enrolled and passed any five subjects to be counted for graduation the preceding semester. ⁵
5. If the student has not been disqualified from a contest because of flagrant or unsportsmanlike conduct or whose conduct or character is not under school discipline. (Principal may reinstate student following a conference and after a written report of details and action taken has been filed with the OSSAA.) ⁶
6. If the student has not participated in a contest under an assumed name.⁷
7. Ifthe student does not belong to a gang, fraternity, sorority or secret society in violation of the State Law of Oklahoma or the regulations of the local board of education, ⁸
8. If the student has not participated in a contest where he/she has used his/her knowledge or skill for financial gain.⁹
9. If the student has not attended school eight semesters in grades 9 through 12, ¹⁰
10. Ifthe student has not participated in interscholastic sports activities during more than four academic years, or have had three seasons of opportunity in a sport after attending two semesters in the 9th grade. ¹¹
11. If the student's parent(s) or guardian(s) are bona fide residents of this high school district. ¹²
12. If the student has not participated in organized practice or a game of football or basketball before the season opens, or after the season closes, ¹³

NOTE: There are some exceptions to the above rules. There are also additional requirements. Consult your coach or principal for additional information.

To be eligible to participate in activities involving other schools, a student must be passing in at least three regular classes. The student must be attending classes at least 90% ofthe time. This applies to all students in any schoolsponsored activity (basketball, FFA, FHA, music, etc.).

Any student who reaches his or her nineteenth birthday before September 1 will not be eligible in athletic contests.

Any student dismissed from school or regular class will not be eligible to represent the school inany activity between schools.

Any person absent during the day of an activity must have the absence accounted for prior to being eligible. Ifthe absence is considered as unexcused by the administration, the student must attend at least one day of school and satisfy the requirements for same before again becoming eligible.

Any student who is under discipline or whose conduct or character is such as to reflect discredit upon the school is not eligible. Fans, school personnel, and students must conduct themselves in true sportsmanship manner. Any student participating in a contest will not be permitted to play the next game if the student was ejected from the game. A second offense will automatically disqualify that student for that sport for the rest of the season.

¹ There are 21 "Rules" in the OSSAA Administrators' Handbook. Not all deal with student eligibility. Information for the listing comes from the first 15 Rules. Please note the following:
Rule 6 relates to the ineligibility of students who have completed all requirements for high school graduation or who have already graduated.
Rule 9 relates to schools maintaining certification of eligibility forms until requested by the OSSAA.
Rule 10 relates to selection and contracting of game officials.
Rule 11 relates to competitions between members of OSSAA and nonmembers.
Rule 12 relates to local school enforcement of the OSSAA constitution and rules.
Rule 13 relates to tournaments, meets, and contests.
² This information is found in Rule 1.
³ This information is found in Rule 1, Section 2.
⁴ This information is found in Rule 2.
⁵ This information is found in Rule 3.
⁶ This information is found in Rule 4.
⁷ This information is found in Rule 4, Section 2.
⁸ This information is found in Rule 4, Section 3.
⁹ This information is found in Rule 5.
¹⁰ This information is found in Rule 7.
¹¹ This information is found in Rule 7, Section 1a.
¹² This information is found in Rule 8.
¹³ Information for this item came from Rule 15, Sections 1 and 2.