Page 62 - 2021-22 By-Laws

Rule 12 - Enrollment

attend School to receive an education first, and participate in athletics second.
d. The enrollment rule promotes and encourages students to progress through high school
toward graduation and a diploma.
e. The enrollment rule discourages the practice of red-shirting.
f. The enrollment rule discourages any and all decisions which subordinate academic
decisions to athletic decisions.
g. The enrollment rule creates interschool athletic opportunities for younger students.
h. The enrollment rule promotes competitive equality among member Schools.
i. The enrollment rule promotes the health and safety of student athletes.
12-1 Eligibility at School of Enrollment; Attendance During First 15 Days
a. A student is eligible to participate in an athletic program involving IHSAA recognized sports
only at the student’s School of Enrollment, or at the Public School Serving the Student’s
Residence, provided the student meets the requirements of rules 12-4, 12-5 or 12-6.
b. In order to be eligible for athletic competition during any semester, a student must have
Enrolled in some high school and have attended full credit classes within the first Fifteen
(15) school days of the semester in which the Contest occurs.
12-2 Participation Limited to Eight Consecutive Semesters or Four Consecutive Years
After Enrollment in the 9th grade, and the passage of Fifteen (15) or more school days, students
shall be eligible for no more than Four (4) consecutive years, or the equivalent. (e.g. Twelve
(12) semesters in a Trimester plan, etc.)
12-3 Exception for Illness or Injury
After Enrollment in the 9th grade, if a student is injured or contracts an illness which necessitates
the student’s complete withdrawal from the School or prohibits enrollment in the School for
that semester, and the student does not receive any academic credit for that semester, then
the semester shall not count as One (1) of the consecutive semesters of enrollment.
a. The terms illness and injury do not include those which are caused in whole or part by
chemical dependency or use, such as the illegal consumption of drugs or alcohol.
b. If the withdrawal should occur after the student has, during the semester, participated in
Twenty percent (20%) or more of the interschool Contests in a sport, then the semester shall
be counted as a semester of enrollment in all sports falling in that semester’s sports seasons.
This percentage shall be determined by dividing the total number of interschool Contests
in which the student participated, during the semester by the total number of interschool
Contests in which the School team participated during the semester (participation by
student during semester/total number of interschool Contests during the semester).
c. If the student participates in more than One (1) level of play, e.g., Varsity, junior-varsity,
freshman, then the participation percentage shall be arrived at by dividing the total number
of interschool Contests in which the student participated during the semester by the total
number of interschool Contests in which the School participated in the level of play in which
the student primarily participated plus the number of interschool Contests in which the
student participated outside the student’s primary participation level (number of Contests
student participated/ [total number of School Contests in primary level of play plus number
of student Contests outside primary level].)
d. A student may participate in a sport for a maximum of Four (4) full seasons.
e. All withdrawals must immediately be reported to the Association prior to the withdrawal
(except in emergency situations), and supported by written verification from a treating
physician, with an unlimited license to practice medicine, and the student’s principal or the
principal’s designee. These verifications must specify the circumstances which warrant the
student’s withdrawal, and the student’s inability to obtain academic credit for the semester.
f. Any student and parent wishing to be considered under this exception must consent to an
independent medical examination of the student, if required, by a physician selected by
the Association.
12-4 Enrollment in an Innovative School or an Innovation Network School
a. If a student is Enrolled in and attends, Full-time, an Innovative School, the student may
have eligibility to participate in the athletic program at the Indiana Public School serving

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