A Message From the Executive Director …

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This week is unique in high school sports in Iowa.  It is the only week of the year in which no sport is in season.  Softball concluded last week, and volleyball, cross country and swimming commence next week.  The down-time means one final week of non-school camps and clinics before we officially begin the 2006-07 school year.  The down-time (after responding to 163 e-mails that accumulated during the softball tournament) also gives a chance to review this column.  After talking to several folks in Fort Dodge, I plan to publish a new message every other week, to allow each message to be posted for a longer period.

There is, without a doubt, a change in the athletic arena this year that is causing the most consternation/panic I’ve seen in my 18 years at the Athletic Union.  We panic when the unknown is in front of us.  We panic with change.  We panic when something that has seemingly worked fine for years is all of a sudden gone.  Today, we panic because academic eligibility rules have changed for the second time in two decades.

In the late 1980s, students were required to pass 15 hours of credit to be deemed “academically eligible.”  That rule changed to required students pass 20 hours of credit to remain eligible.  In the traditional semester grading schedule, that means a student must pass 4 classes which meet 5 days a week for 1 hour per day (4-5-1=20).  A student who took 4 classes must pass every class.  A student who took 7 classes must pass three of those classes.  Classes only count toward the requirement if graduation credit is given.

The majority of states throughout the country share this “pass 4” standard.   Few states are more lenient.  Several states have more stringent rules in place.

About seven years ago, the State Board of Education first addressed this standard, with several members believing Iowa should be among the states with more stringent rules for academic eligibility.  There were debates about several alternatives, including a 2.0 or a similar GPA requirement.  Last year, the State Board of Education approved a new academic eligibility rule which impacts all students who participate in IGHSAU sanctioned sports.  That rule, which became effective July 1, can be found at

http://www.ighsau.org/general/36.15(2)%20Guidance.htm.  

There was a great deal of debate and argument about the rule.  That debate and argument is now over.  Anyone and everyone who wanted to have their voice heard had several opportunities along the way.  The State Board of Education had input from hundreds of parents, coaches and administrators, as it developed this new rule. 

Many coaches and administrators and parents do not like the new rule.  No one can rationally argue against the concept of raising the standards by which we judge our students.  Much of the opposition to the rule is based the task of applying this new rule even-handedly across the board to all 396 member schools.  Those schools have widely varying academic structures – seven or eight period days, blocks, trimesters, semesters.  There is post-secondary coursework to consider as well.  The other primary concern deals with the penalty phase of the rule. 

Our immediate goal as we start the school year is understanding the rule, its application, and knowing the intent of the State Board of Education in promulgating this rule.

Understanding the rule is actually fairly easy.  Today, rather than passing 20 hours of credit, a student must pass ALL courses for which graduation credit is given.  For all the hundreds of words in the academic rule, the bottom line is a student must pass ALL coursework.  Pretty simple.

The application is fairly simple as well.  Regardless of the academic schedule of a school - whether on blocks, trimesters, semesters, etc., we check grades any time they are recorded on the student’s transcript, and credit is issued.   At that time, if there is an “F”, the penalty phase of the rule is applied.

Now, the panic sets in as we determine the penalty phase of the new rule.  When that “F” goes on the transcript, a student is ineligible for the NEXT 20 school days in which he/she is a bona-fide contestant in a sport.  That means, if I am a volleyball only player, and receive an “F” for a first-semester grade, I am ineligible for volleyball next fall for the first 20 school days.  Doesn’t matter if I get straight “A”s the second semester, I must sit out 20 days in the fall.  Doesn’t matter if I decide I want to run track for the first time in the spring.  Since I haven’t done it before, I’m not a bona-fide contestant, so I can run track, but still serve those 20 days of ineligibility next fall.

The bona-fide contestant language was introduced to prevent students from merely “going out” for a sport to work off ineligibility so they don’t miss any time in their preferred sport.  Many schools use similar language to penalize students for violations of their local good conduct rules.

There is an interpretation manual offering question and answer guidance for the new rule at the web site address listed above.  It is quite telling that 90 percent of the questions in this manual are related to the penalty phase of this rule.

Equally telling is that despite the panic that surrounds the potential ramifications of this new rule several schools that studied their students last spring learned that even in the largest of high schools, the new rule would impact only a handful of students not already impacted by the previous rule.  And, those students who were penalized by the old rule would miss one full semester.  Penalties with the new rule extend no more than 20 days – encouraging students to remain involved in sports, rather than walk away.  In my mind, the new rule offers some opportunity that didn’t previously exist.

As I indicated above, our final and most important goal is understanding the intent of the State Board of Education.  It isn’t to penalize students, or to restrict students from participation in sports.  Rather, the intent is to further enhance those academic benefits that are already a core part of interscholastic athletics.  We know students who participate in activities have a grade point average more than one full letter higher than students who don’t participate in activities.  The academic benefits of participation in athletics are well documented.

The intent is to provide incentive to students to work even harder in the classroom in order to participate in athletics, because in real life, each individual has to work harder every day than they did the day before to participate in the things they enjoy.  Achieving the bare minimum is no way to get through life.  Why prepare students for their adult lives by demanding the bare minimum?  This is yet another example of raising the bar for student achievement, in an effort to prepare our students for success in their adult lives.

As is the case with any new regulation, there is a learning curve.  We’ll learn how to apply it to the various educational schedules that exist.  We’ll learn the answers to questions which surely haven’t even been thought of yet.  And, perhaps we’ll learn that some aspects of this rule are wonderful on paper, but not practical in real life.  Think back to when coaches were only allowed 10 days of contact in the summer.  Great rule on paper, but it was an administrative nightmare and was practically unenforceable.  That rule changed because coaches, administrators and parents offered CONSTRUCTIVE input to the two associations and the State Department of Education. 

I urge everyone to work with this new rule, keeping in mind the intent with which it was written.  If you have suggestions for modifications or enhancements after experiencing its application, contact our office, or contact the State Department of Education.  You can be assured this subject will be reviewed next spring, as all new regulations are, to determine if it best serves our students.   Those who are reading this message are in the best position of all to determine if the language of this rule is meeting the intent of this rule.

Troy Dannen