Skip To Main Content

High School Eligibility & FAQs

Athletic Eligibility

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), the governing body for all interscholastic sports, requires students to be passing four major subjects or their equivalent.  Eligibility is determined every week.  Class standing is defined as the grade or mark in a given subject for all work covered from the beginning of the semester or year to date.  

Eligibility is reported weekly from Power School by the Director of Athletics and Student Activities. Teachers are encouraged to maintain up-to-date grades in PowerSchool.  The Director of Athletics & Student Activities and/or their Coach will notify any student athletes who are ineligible.

General Eligibility Requirements

In order for a boy/girl to compete in interscholastic athletics and all programs defined as co-curricular he/she must fulfill all the regulations and requirements set forth by the P.I.A.A. and the Pottsgrove School District.  The major requirements are as follows for all athletes, and students who participate in co-curricular programs, including but not limited to clubs, musical, dance, musical and service programs:

Amateur Status

Students must be amateurs:

  • Cannot play under an assumed name.
  • Cannot receive money
  • Cannot sign a contract to play for a professional team.

Academic Requirements

Must receive a cumulative passing grade in four credits as per Article X, Section I, P.I.A.A.  – How to Ascertain Class Standing

Scholastic eligibility shall be determined by ascertaining the pupil’s class standing in each subject, at intervals of one week, during the current marking period.  Class standing is defined as the grade or mark in a given subject for all work covered from the beginning of the marking period to the current week in that marking period to date.  Weekly marks shall be effective for a period of one week from the date of issue.  If the official report as recorded on the pupil’s report card shows that a pupil is ineligible, he/she shall remain ineligible until his/her back work has been made up, in conformity with the requirements of this article.

High School Academic Eligibility

High school students participating in athletics and co-curricular activities must have a minimum of a 65% grade for the current marking period in at least 4.0 credit subjects as per the P.I.A.A. Where required, this curriculum or its equivalent must be approved by and conform to the regulations of the State Board of Education and the Pennsylvania School Code, as well as any local policies established by the local School Board. The student must be passing at least  4.0 credit subjects, or the equivalent, Eligibility is cumulative from the beginning of a grading period, must be reported on a weekly basis, where a student’s cumulative work from the beginning of the grading period does not as of any Friday meet the minimum standards, the student is ineligible from the immediately following Sunday through Saturday immediately following the next Friday as of which the students cumulative work from the beginning of the grading period.

  1. High School Students.  All students who participate in co-curricular programs may not be failing 2 or more major subjects, while maintaining a minimum of passing 4.0 credits.

Academic Probation

High School Students will be permitted one week of a probationary period to improve their grade by the following Friday at 3:00 pm. Academic probation only applies to students that are passing 4.0 total credits but not not passing 2 major subjects. If after one week and they have not met the academic criteria and are not passing the required 4.0 credits per PIAA By-Laws, they will be ineligible for the following week.  If a student does not meet the academic standard after 3 consecutive weeks, they will be removed from the program for a period of 15 school days for yearly co-curricular programs and/or the remainder of that season for an athlete.  

How Academic Ineligibility Affects Participating in Contests

A student who is inelgibible will not be able to participate in a contest and:

  1. Will not be dismissed early from school to attend a contest of his/her particular team.
  2. May attend a home game after the conclusion of the regular school day and any additional academic assistance that may be assigned to them.  Students/athletes are not permitted to dress in uniform, however, they may wear their team jersey.
  3. Participants may attend an evening contest provided they have completed the regular school day, if the game is an away contest and the athletes are not dismissed early, the student-athlete may attend via team bus.  Student athlete is not permitted to dress in uniform, however, they may wear their team jersey.
  4. All students who are ineligible must attend at least 3 sessions of additional classroom and/or tutorial sessions to return to their respective team or program.

Students that are ineligible are unable to participate in contests from that Sunday through the following Saturday.

How Absence Affects Eligibility and Participation (Article III, Section II)

  • Must attend school the day of the game/practice. Any exception to the rule must have the prior approval of the Director of Athletics and the Principal.    
  • Student athletes must be in school by 9:30 a.m. If a student is tardy after 9:30am they will need a medical note or an appointment card that must be presented to both the attendance desk and the athletic office prior to the event/practice.
  • If a student is marked TEM after 9:30am they will be allowed to participate or practice, If a student is marked TE after 9:30am they will not be able to participate in that days activities.  
  • If a student is absent from school during a semester for a total of 20 or more school days, the student will lose eligibility until they have been in attendance for a total of 45 school days following the 20th day of absence.

Period of Time After 8th Grade, Participation, and Grade Repetition (Article VIII)

  • A student's athletic eligibility extends only until they have reached the end of their fourth consecutive year beyond 8th grade. Therefore, if a student repeats a grade of 8th grade they will be ineligible as a senior.
  • Additionally, a student may participate in:
    • maximum of six seasons in each spot during grades seven through 12
    • maximum of four seasons in each sport during grades nine through twelve
    • maximum of three seasons grades seven through ninth

School Discipline

Any student suspended from school either OSS or ISS is ineligible for participation in activities during the time of the suspension.

Age Requirement

Students who turn 19 years old on or after July 1 remain eligible to compete through the end of that school year.

Behavior Expectations

Behavior considered unbecoming of a participant may result in the Athletic Director and/or Principal revoking a student's privilege to participate in athletics.

Equipment Return

Student-athletes must return all equipment issued for one sport before participating in the next athletic season. For example, football equipment must be returned before participating in wrestling.