Illinois High School Association

1 (For 2018-19 School Term)This summary is for the purpose of assisting inthe understanding of IHSA By-laws andPolicies. In case of a conflict between thispublication and the constitution and by-laws ofthe IHSA, the constitution and by-laws Provisions Regarding IHSA Rules Eligibility Rules When you become a member of aninterscholastic team at your high School , youwill find that both your School and the IHSA will have rules you must follow in order to beeligible for interscholastic participation . TheIHSA s rules have been adopted by the highschools which are members of IHSA as partof the Association s constitution and must be followed as minimumstandards for all interscholastic athleticcompetition in any member high high School may have additionalrequirements, but they may not be lessstringent than these statewide minimums.

2 The principal/official representative of yourschool is responsible to see that only eligiblestudents represent the School ininterscholastic competition. Any questionconcerning your eligibility should be referredto your principal/official representative, whohas a complete copy of all IHSA eligibilityrules, including the Association s due processprocedure. Only the IHSA ExecutiveDirector is authorized to make formal rulingson eligibility, so if your principal/officialrepresentative has questions or wishesassistance in answering your questions, theprincipal/official representative shouldcontact the IHSA Office.

3 Information contained here highlights someof the most important features of the IHSAby-laws regarding interscholastic is designed to make you aware of majorrequirements you must meet to be eligible tocompete in interscholastic competition. Theinformation here is only a general descriptionof major by-law provisions and does notcontain the statement of the by-laws in theirentirety. You can review the by-laws You may lose eligibility for interscholasticcompetition if you are not in compliance withIHSA by-laws. Remember, if you have anyquestions regarding IHSA rules, pleasecontact your principal/official AttendanceA.

4 You may represent only the School youattend. participation on a cooperativeteam of which your School is a memberis You must be enrolled and attendingclasses in your high School no later thanthe beginning of the 11th School day ofthe If you attend School for ten (10) ormore days during any one semester, itwill count as one of the eight (8)semesters of high School attendanceduring which you may possibly If you have a lapse in School connectionfor ten (10) or more consecutive schooldays during a semester, you are subjectto ineligibility for the rest of thesemester. The specific terms of yourextended absence must be reviewed bythe Executive Director to determine if itis lapse in School connection or Scholastic StandingA.

5 You must pass twenty-five (25) credithours of high School work per , twenty-five (25) credit hoursis the equivalent of five (5) .5 creditcourses ( full credits).B. You must have passed and receivedcredit toward graduation for twenty-five(25) credit hours of high School workfor the entire previous semester to beeligible at all during the Residence Your eligibility is dependent on the locationof the residence where you live full time withyour parents, parent who has been assignedcustody by the court, or court appointed legalguardian. You may be eligible if you are entering highschool as a freshman and:A.

6 You attend the public high School in thedistrict in which you live full time withboth of your parents, custodial parent orcourt appointed guardian; orB. In the case of a multiple School district,you attend the public high School in theattendance area where you live full timewith your parents, custodial parent orcourt appointed guardian; or C. You have paid tuition to attend a publicschool for a minimum of 7th and 8thgrades in a district other than the onewhere you live with your parents,custodial parent or court appointedguardian and you continue to paytuition as a high School student in thatsame district; or D.

7 You attend a private/parochial schoollocated within the boundaries of thepublic School district where you livewith your parents, custodial parent orcourt appointed guardian; orE. You attend a private/parochial highschool and have attended aprivate/parochial School for 7th and 8thgrades, or for any four (4) grades fromkindergarten through eighth grades; orF. You attend the private/parochial highschool which one or both of yourparents attended; or G. You attend a private/parochial highschool located within a thirty (30) mileradius of the residence where you livewith your parents, custodial parent orcourt appointed TransferA.

8 In all transfer cases, both the principalof the School from which you transferand the principal of the School intowhich you transfer must concur withthe transfer in writing on a formprovided by the IHSA Office. Youcannot be eligible when you transferuntil this form is fully executed and onfile in the School If you transfer after classes begin forthe current School term, you willdefinitely be ineligible for thirty daysfrom the date you start attending classesat the new high School . In addition, youwill be ineligible for that entire schoolterm in any sport in which you engagedin any team activity, including but notlimited to tryouts, drills, physicalpractice sessions, team meetings,playing in a contest, etc.

9 At the schoolfrom which you transferred. Forexample, if you were out for crosscountry at the School from which youtransfer and transfer after the IHSA sport season has begun, you will beineligible for cross country that entireschool term at the new If you transfer attendance from onehigh School to another high School , youwill be ineligible unless:1. Your transfer is in conjunctionwith a change in residence by bothyou and your parents, custodialparent or court appointed guardianfrom one public School district toa different public School district;2. Your transfer is between highschools within a public schooldistrict and both you and yourparents, custodial parent or courtappointed guardian changeresidence to the district attendancearea for the School to which youtransfer;3.

10 Your parents are divorced orlegally separated; you transfer to anew School in conjunction with amodification or other change inlegal custody between yourparents by action of a judge; andrequired court documents are onfile at the School into which youtransfer;D. If you transfer in conjunction with achange in legal guardianship, a rulingon your eligibility must be obtainedfrom the IHSA If you transfer attendance from oneschool to another while you areineligible for any reason, the period ofineligibility imposed prior to yourtransfer or the period of ineligibilitythat would have been imposed had youstayed at the School , will be enforced atthe School to which you transfer, even ifyou are otherwise in compliance withthe high School AssociationF.