Eligibility

League rules and regulations have been developed by the principals of Virginia high schools for a period of more than 80 years. They establish standards for the conduct and control of desirable interscholastic activities in order to protect and preserve the educational values inherent in those activities. They provide a uniform code for individual eligibility for participation in order to equalize to some degree the opportunities for success in competition, to encourage the participation of representative students and to insure maintenance of minimum essential standards by all school representatives.

There are 13 individual eligibility regulations. The first 7 are applicable to all student participants. The last 6 apply only to those participants on athletic teams. These rules, exceptions and interpretations can be found in the VHSL Handbook and are as follows:

28A-2-1 Bona Fide Student Rule
28A-4-1 Grade Rule
28A-3-1 Enrollment Rule
28A-5-1 Scholarship Rule
28A-1-1 Age Rule
28A-7-1 Transfer Rule
28A-6-1 Semester Rule
28B-2-1 Amateur Rule
28B-3-1 Athletic Participation/Parental Consent/Physical Examination Rule
28B-4-1 Awards Rule
28B-6-1 Independent Team Rule
28B-1-1 All-Star Participation Rule
28B-5-1 College Participation Rule

Eligibility Appeals

VHSL Handbook 28C-1-1  DUE PROCESS RULE – Whenever a principal has information that a student who wants to represent the school in a League-sponsored activity may be ineligible to do so because of failure to qualify under one or more of the individual eligibility regulations in Section 28 of the Handbook, he/she shall promptly conduct an informal hearing within three working days to resolve the question.  The student shall be entitled to be present at the hearing and to offer information about his/her eligibility.  If, subsequent to the hearing, the principal determines that the student is ineligible, he/she shall inform the student by letter of his/her ineligibility and the specific individual eligibility regulations involved.  Excluding those exceptions listed under 28C-1-1, the student or parent may appeal the principal’s declaration of ineligibility to the District Committee by writing to the district chairman.  The District Committee shall review the case within five working days after receiving notice of the appeal.  The student shall be entitled to be present at the District Committee hearing and to offer information about his/her eligibility.  The District Committee may set aside a rule only for these specific cases:  Enrollment Rule 28A-3-1(2), Scholarship Rule 28A-5-2 (3) and Transfer Rule 28A-7-2 (13).  All other decisions of the District Committee shall be recommendations only.  Any decision of the District Committee may be appealed by the student, parent or member school principal to the Executive Director and subsequent levels of appeal in accordance with Section 33 of the Handbook.

Whenever a District Committee or an interDistrict Committee has information that a student previously certified as eligible by the principal may not be eligible because of failure to qualify under one or more of the individual eligibility regulations in Section 28 of the Handbook, the committee shall promptly, within five working days, conduct an informal hearing to resolve the question.  The student and the principal shall be entitled to be present and to offer information about the case, and the District Committee shall consult the Executive Director as required in Section 20-3-1 of the Handbook.  The District Committee may set aside a rule only for these specific cases:  Enrollment Rule 28A-3-2 (2), Scholarship Rule 28A-5-2 (3) and Transfer Rule 28A-7-2(14).  All other decisions of the District Committee shall be recommendations only.  If, subsequent to the hearing, the committee determines that the student is ineligible, it shall notify the student and the principal of the ineligibility and the specific individual eligibility regulations involved.  The student, parent or member school principal, in keeping with Section 33 of the Handbook, may appeal the committee’s decision to the Executive Director and subsequent levels of appeal in accordance with Section 33 of the Handbook.

28C-1-2 Exceptions – A student who is denied participation in League activities (a) because of local rules authorized in Section 27, or (b) because of any rule or regulation of any local school board or division superintendent.

28C-1-3 Interpretations
(1)  Upon receipt of information that a student may be ineligible, or that a district or interDistrict Committee is considering the eligibility of a student, the principal may temporarily suspend that student’s participation in League activities until the required hearing has been completed and the question resolved.  If the principal permits the student to continue participation until the hearing, and the student is subsequently found to have been ineligible, the provisions of Section 30-2-1 of the Handbook shall apply.

(2)  The failure of any person entitled to be present at a hearing under this rule shall not prevent the conduct of the hearing if the person has been previously invited to appear.