WVSSAC
Rules and Regulations Handbook
2008-09 Rule Changes Passed by State BOE
Amend 127-1-4 Membership (Pg. 2) as follows:
4.2.5. A member high
school must sponsor one (1) sport per gender during each season - fall, winter
and spring. Schools having membership
prior to the 2007-2008 school year are exempt from
this provision.
Amend 127-1-6 Officers and Duties (Pg. 4) as follows:
6.3 The term of an
officer-member shall end immediately upon his agreement to accept a position
that would make him ineligible to hold office in this Commission. However, in the event that a director
ceases to meet the qualifications for his/her position but remains in good
standing in the last year of his/her term, such director shall be given the
option to remain in his/her position for the remainder of the assigned
term. Vacancy would then be filled at
the next annual Board of Control.
Amend 127-2-3 Enrollment and Team Membership
(Pg. 15) as follows:
3.2.3. if member schools containing grades 6
and/or 7 and/or 8 and/or 9 may combine students from two or more schools
within the county to form one interscholastic team in a sport. Requests for permission to combine students
from two or more schools in the same non-public or public school system must be
submitted annually to the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission
(WVSSAC) in writing by the superintendent of the non-public or public school
system. Schools which are combining to
form one team must be feeder schools for the same high school and at least one
school does not have sufficient numbers for a team. If more than two schools are involved,
principals are to evaluate the number of available participants in each school
and shall combine schools to provide as many teams that sufficient numbers will
allow. Sufficient numbers will be
defined as the number of a starting line-up plus 50% (for odd number line-ups,
round up).
Amend 127-2-3 Enrollment and Team Membership
(Pg. 16) as follows:
3.4. Students enrolled
in the following grades in member schools will be eligible for junior high
freshman/middle school participation:
Junior
High Schools High Schools Middle Schools
Grades 7 and 8 7, 8 and 9 (six year school) 6, 7, 8
(3-year or 4-year school)
Grades
7, 8, and 9 8 and 9 (five year
school)
Grades 8 and 9 9
(four year school)
3.4.1. Middle
School - 6, 7 and 8 may compete with and against schools/teams of the same
configuration.
3.4.2. Stand alone freshman programs may compete with and against
schools/teams of the same grade configuration.
An 8th grade student not provided the opportunity to participate at
their member school because the sport is not offered may choose to participate
on a stand alone freshman team at their feeder high school, provided the
student is otherwise eligible.
Amend 127-2-3 Enrollment and Team Membership (Pg. 15) as follows:
3.5. Sixth grade students may be eligible to participate
in interscholastic sport teams, except football, in the middle school in which
they are enrolled. Beginning school year 2009‑2010 sixth grade
students may be eligible to participate in all interscholastic sport teams,
including football, in the middle school in which they are enrolled
Amend §127-2-7.
Residence-Transfer. (Pg. 19) as follows:
7.1. Part A - Residence - This residence
rule applies to all students enrolled in grades 6-12 in both public and
non-public member schools.
7.1.1. A student shall be
eligible in the zone in which the student’s parents reside. Public secondary school attendance zones
shall be established by official action by each county Board of Education. Zones of nonpublic member schools shall be
established by their governing board and subject to approval by Board of
Directors. Said non-public member
schools attendance zones shall not exceed the boundaries of the county in which
they are located.
7.1.1.
A student shall be eligible in the school located in the attendance zone in
which the student’s parents reside. Public secondary school attendance zones
shall be established by official action by each
7.1.2. A student shall be
eligible when enrolling to attend a member secondary school for the first time
in the zone in which the parents reside, unless the student has established
eligibility under Rule 127-2-7.2.3 in another attendance zone.
7.1.3
7.1.2. When a town or city is
located in two counties and only one public secondary school is located in the
town or city, students living in the town or city may attend this secondary
school if mutually agreed upon by the two county boards of education and
approved by the Board of Directors. A
student shall be eligible at the school in which the student first chooses to
enroll upon entering 9th grade.
7.1.4
7.1.3. A student who is in the
care of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources shall be
eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics as a member of the
athletic teams of the secondary school in the zone in which said West Virginia
Department of Health and Human Resources places the student in a home, provided
the student is otherwise eligible.
7.1.5
7.1.4. A student may be eligible
outside the specified zone of attendance if the student has been in attendance
in that zone the immediate preceding year (365 days). There can be no change of residence involving
change of attendance zone during the immediate preceding year (365 days).
a. Should
the parents make a bona fide change of residence to a new school zone during
the school term, a student may remain in the school zone from which the parents
moved and retain eligibility.
b. A
student whose parents have resided in the school zone for a minimum of one
academic year at which the student has been in attendance for a minimum of one
academic year and whose parents move out of the school zone may:
7.1.5.
A student whose parents have resided in the school zone for a minimum of
one academic year at which the student has been in attendance for a minimum of
one academic year and whose parents make a bona fide change of residence to a
new school zone during the school term may:
A. Retain eligibility as long as said student
retains continuous enrollment and attendance or:
B. Transfer at time of change of residence to
the school in the attendance zone in which the parents are now residing and be
eligible in that school or:
C. Transfer at any time prior to the start of
the next school year to the school in the attendance zone in which his parents
are residing and be eligible for interscholastic activities at the receiving
school.
7.1.6. A student whose parents have resided in the
school zone for less than one academic year at which the student has been in
attendance for less than one academic year and whose parents make a bona fide
change of residence to a new school zone during the school term may:
A. Retain eligibility for the balance of the
academic year, provided the said student retains
continuous enrollment and attendance or:
B. Transfer at time of change of residence to
the school in the attendance zone in which the parents are now residing and be
eligible in that school or:
C. If a student chooses to remain enrolled at
the school outside the attendance zone in which his/her parents reside at the
conclusion of the academic year the student will be ineligible for the next
academic year.
7.1.6
7.1.7. Foreign exchange students,
attending a member school under the auspices of a Council on Standards for
International Educational Travel (CSIET) student exchange program, shall be
considered eligible regarding residence for a maximum period of one calendar
year. Said foreign exchange student may
not be a graduate of the secondary school of the home country and must maintain
eligibility in a
member school. A foreign exchange
program must assign students to schools by a method which insures that no
student, school, or other interested party may influence the assignment for
athletic purposes.
7.1.7
7.1.8. A student returning from
an approved foreign exchange program may resume interscholastic competition in
a member school at the point of interruption provided the student does not
fulfill graduation requirements while participating in the exchange program and
provided the student meets all requirements relative to age and semesters of eligibility.
7.2. Part B - Transfer.
7.2.1. A student becomes
immediately eligible, providing all other eligibility requirements are met,
when parents make a bona fide change of residence to a new school zone. Determination of a bona fide change of residence
depends upon the facts of each case.
7.2.2. If a student
transfers during the school year from a secondary school in one zone to a
secondary school in another zone, said student shall be ineligible for 365 days
from date of enrollment unless the parents become residents of the zone to
which the student transfers. Students
transferring out of attendance zone shall immediately forfeit eligibility in
the attendance zone unless exempted by Rule 127-2-7.2.8 and 127-2-7.2.9.
7.2.3. Students who
transfer during the school year to or from a member or non-member school shall
be ineligible for 365 days from date of enrollment unless the parents move from
one member school zone to another member school zone in conjunction with
transfer of schools.
7.2.1. If a student
transfers during the school year from one secondary school to another secondary
school, said student shall be ineligible for 365 days from date of enrollment,
absent a bona fide change of residence.
7.2.4.
7.2.2 If
the transfer is from a non-member school to a member school in the zone where
the student’s parents reside, a student is eligible providing; (1) the student
is enrolling in a member school for the first time and (2) the principals of
both non-member and member schools involved concur that undue influence is not
involved with the transfer.
7.2.5.
7.2.3 A
student may be transferred from one attendance zone to another zone
within the same county by a county board of education and maintain
eligibility. The transfer must be
initiated by county board of education personnel to fulfill certain special
education programs(s) not available in the attendance zone from which the
student is transferred. Upon the
completion of the special program, the student must return to the attendance
zone of the student’s residence.
7.2.6.
7.2.4 For
the purpose of athletic eligibility, the Commission does not recognize
emancipated status as relates to transfer except as might occur in marriage and
relocation to another school zone.
7.2.7
7.2.5 Notwithstanding
any other provisions of WVSSAC rules and regulations, if a student transfers
for athletic reasons, the student will be ineligible for 365 days from the date
of enrollment.
7.2.8.
7.2.6 If
a student is released and accepted by formal actions of county boards of
education or similar governing bodies of a non-public school which have
verified that such transfer is not for athletic purposes, said student will be
granted immediate eligibility provided all other rules are met. The transfer must occur at the beginning of
the 9th grade school year with
the student enrolled on or before the eleventh instructional day of the
beginning of the school year and provided that said student is residing with
the parents. Once a student has been a
member of a team that has participated in a scrimmage or contest, the student
has established eligibility at that school.
7.2.9. During the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades, a student shall
be entitled to one transfer back into the public member school located within
the attendance zone where the student’s parents residence is located regardless
of from where the student is transferring.
A student shall be entitled to transfer back to a non-public member
school if said student had been enrolled in said non-public member school or
non-public member feeder school the 365 days prior to enrollment in the 9th grade. Any student transferring under the
provisions of this rule will not become eligible until the completion of the
school year in which said transfer occurs.
Eligibility will begin with the succeeding fall sports season. Transfer must be completed prior to the first
day of school.
7.2.7. TRANSFER BACK. During the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades, a student shall
be entitled to one transfer back into the public member school located within
the attendance zone where the student’s parents reside, or to a non-public
member school if said student had been enrolled in said non-public member
school or non-public member feeder school during the 365 days prior to
enrollment in the 9th grade, regardless of from where the student is
transferring. Any student transferring
under the provisions of this rule will not become eligible until the completion
of the school year in which said transfer occurs. Eligibility will begin with the succeeding
fall sports season, or immediately if the transfer back is completed on or
before the eleventh instructional day of the beginning of the school year. Once a student has been a member of a team
that has participated in a scrimmage or contest, the student has established
eligibility at that school.
7.2.10.
7.2.8 The eligibility of a
student whose parents are divorced or legally separated is determined by the
following: a. a
court decree establishing residency with one parent.
7.2.11.
7.2.9. After establishing initial
residency with one parent, all subsequent transfers will require a period of
ineligibility for 365 days from date of enrollment unless a change of residency
is decreed by the court.
Amend 127-3-23 Football (Pg. 48) as follows:
23.2.1. The Board of
Directors, upon written request, may grant permission for a football team to
play its first game one day earlier if the playing field is used by more than
one high school.
Amend 127-3-31 Wrestling (Pg. 56) as follows:
14 16 matches including tournaments sanctioned by the
WVSSAC.