Athletic Eligibility—Activities Code

Activities Covered by the Code

The Principal shall determine which school activities are subject to the activities code and shall make clear to each activity director, coach, club sponsor, etc. whether the code applies to his/her activity. The following considerations shall guide the Principal in making this determination:

All school sports as well as cheerleading are covered by this code.
All activities which are extra-curricular in nature are covered by this code. The principal shall inform all activity sponsors in a timely manner as to whether their particular activity is covered by the code.
Activities which include only occasional lunchtime meetings are not covered by this code unless so stipulated by the principal or the advisor of the activity. If, however, a club or activity of this nature participates in off-campus events in which students are representing Piedmont High School, student participation in the activity is covered by this code in two ways:
1. A student ineligible to participate in extra-curricular activities because of earlier violations of the code will not be eligible to participate in the club off-campus activity.
2. A student who violates this code in the course of participating in the off-campus activity will be declared ineligible for other extra-curricular activities as provided for in this code and may be declared ineligible for continued membership in the club at the discretion of the Principal.
Attendance at school dances, including the Homecoming Dance, Senior Picnic, Junior Prom, Spring Fling dance, the Winter Ball, and all other dances throughout the year is covered by the Activities Code. Students who are ineligible may not attend these events. (Attendance at the Senior Ball may be permitted to ineligible seniors by applying for probation through the Assistant Principal. No underclassmen are eligible for this process.) Attendance as an audience member at athletic and dramatic events is not, however, covered by the code. Students who are ineligible to participate in extra-curricular activities are eligible to attend these events unless forbidden to do so for school disciplinary reasons not related to the activities code.
A student may not run for elective ASB office or try out for Spirit Squad if the student is ineligible at the time of the election or tryout. ASB officers who are declared ineligible may be removed from the ASB at the Principal’s discretion.

Conduct

Students participating in extra-curricular activities assume responsibility for knowing and following this code and for accepting the penalties if they violate the code. Students participating in activities are expected to:

Behave in ways that will bring credit and honor to Piedmont High School and to themselves, their teachers, coaches, parents and fellow students. Appropriate conduct is expected both on and off campus at all times. Students are expected to abide by the school’s academic integrity policy.
Attend all classes regularly.
Play fairly and cleanly in athletic competitions. Students will follow regulations, cooperate with officials, and display good sportsmanship in both wins and losses.
Not use alcohol or illegal drugs.

Eligibility

Participation in extra-curricular activities is a privilege extended to students who are progressing adequately toward their primary goals at Piedmont High School—the goals of getting a good education and of preparing for the pursuit of a higher education and/or a satisfying career. Eligibility for extra-curricular activities is determined by the student’s grades and by student adherence to the code of conduct outlined below. Final determination of eligibility in any particular case is determined by the Principal.

Grades

To be eligible for participation in extra-curricular activities, a student must have met the following grade requirements during the last regular grade reporting period preceding the student’s participation in the activity:

The student must have received a passing grade in courses representing at least 20 period units.
The student must have attained at least a 2.0 grade point average in all coursework attempted.
The student must not have received a “U” citizenship grade in more than one course.
In the event of an Incomplete grade, the conditional grade submitted by the teacher will be used in determining eligibility until the Incomplete is cleared.

A “U” citizenship grade in Library study hall is counted against a student in determining extra-curricular eligibility. Interim progress reports, whether positive or negative, do not affect eligibility, which is based solely on regular grade reports unless the student is eligible only on a probationary basis. (See “Probation,”)

An equivalent course taken in summer school may help to re-establish eligibility if a 2.0 GPA is achieved when the grade for the made-up course is substituted for the grade which caused the student to have less than a 2.0 gpa in the first place. A “U” citizenship grade on the June report card may be cleared if the course for which the grade was assigned is repeated in summer school, and if the student’s conduct during the course was satisfactory. An academic grade in an equivalent correspondence course may also be used to substitute for a poor grade in a regular course for purposes of determining eligibility. However, no correspondence course, whether taken during the regular year or summer school, can clear an unsatisfactory citizenship grade.

Prohibited Activities with Specific Penalties

Behavior

Behavior which in the judgment of the Principal seriously discredits the student or the school, whether this behavior is on or off campus, is prohibited. On-campus behavior which warrants suspension from school and off-campus behavior which warrants citation by the police will be reviewed by the Principal in order to determine whether the student’s continued participation in extra-curricular activities is appropriate. In response to such behavior the Principal may impose penalties ranging from a brief suspension from extra-curricular activities to a full suspension from activities for current and/or future semesters.

Attendance

Absences on the day of an event.
1. A student participating in extra-curricular activities may not have any unexcused absences on the day of an extra-curricular event in order to participate in the event.
2. Failure to attend at least 1/2 of a student’s assigned classes prior to time for dismissal for the extra-curricular event, even when the absences from these classes are excused by the parent, will make the student ineligible to participate in the event. In compelling circumstances, the Principal may make exceptions to this rule.
3. For purposes of determining eligibility for extra-curricular events, excuses for eighteen year olds excusing themselves on the day of an event will not be accepted unless accompanied by documentation such as a medical appointment slip, etc.
4. These provisions will apply to events such as games or performances and not to practices or rehearsals unless the advisor of the activity is so notified in advance by the Principal.
5. Provisions a&b above will be monitored in the following way.
  The administration will monitor student attendance on a spot-check basis on the day of an event and may declare a particular student ineligible for that day’s event on the basis of the facts discovered. In making spot-checks, it is expected that particular attention may legitimately be paid by administrators to the attendance of students who have had a poor record of compliance with school attendance rules.
  When a student is discovered to have violated a-b above and still participated in the event(s) in question in the previous week, the student will be declared ineligible for the next similar event. In the case of a sport, the next similar event will mean the next game in the schedule. In the case of a dramatic or musical performance, the Principal will exercise discretion in assigning a penalty, which may range from detention to a declaration of ineligibility for future dramatic or musical events.
Students will become ineligible for all extra-curricular participation for the remainder of a semester whenever they have accumulated 2 unexcused absences in any one class or 4 unexcused absences in all classes combined in one quarter. This provision will be monitored by the school administration in the following way: Any student who is in danger of being declared ineligible because of this rule will be notified in person, time permitting, by the school administration when one further cut will cause this rule to be enforced. This rule will then be enforced when a further cut has taken place after such notification has occurred. In the event the school administration has not issued such a warning, eligibility will be revoked without warning after a student accumulates 4 unexcused absences in one class at the quarter, or 8 unexcused absences in all classes in the quarter.
Whenever a student accumulates 4 excused absences in any one class at the quarter or 20 excused absences in all classes, the Principal may review that student’s attendance, extra-curricular and academic record and will make a determination whether it is in the student’s or the school’s best interests for the student to be allowed to continue in extra-curricular activities. The Principal will consider the reasons for the absences and the pattern of the absences in making this determination.

Sportsmanship

Coaches and activity sponsors will punish minor violations of good sportsmanship themselves and will report serious violations to the Principal. The Principal may impose a penalty ranging from suspension from the activity for a brief time to suspension for the duration of the activity.

Alcohol and Drugs

The school does not condone any use of alcohol or illegal drugs by students. The category of illegal drugs includes steroids not prescribed by a physician as well as such mind altering substances as marijuana, cocaine, LSD, psychedelic mushrooms, etc. The school also recognizes the difficulty of monitoring student use of these substances outside of the school day or outside of school events. Therefore the rules below address primarily the use of illegal drugs or alcohol that is broadly school related. The following specific rules will guide the school administration in dealing with use of alcohol and drugs by students involved in extra-curricular activities:

When the Principal is presented with convincing evidence that a student has done any of the following, the student shall be suspended from all extra-curricular activities:
- Possessed, consumed, or under the influence of alcohol in any amount or possessed, used, or under the influence of illegal drugs or possessed drug paraphernalia at any time during school or at any school sponsored event,
- Possessed, consumed, or under the influence of alcohol in any amount or possessed, used, or under the influence of illegal drugs on the day of an extra-curricular event prior to or during that event, even if such use did not take place during school,
- Possessed, used, or under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol at any time on the grounds of any school in the Piedmont Unified School District, or
- Knowingly been present in a group of persons using alcohol or illegal drugs during the school day or on school or PUSD grounds at any time without immediately absenting him or herself from such a group upon discovery of such illegal use,
  The following rules shall guide the suspension from extra-curricular activities:
  1. Athletes will be dropped for the remainder of the sports season.
  2. Creative arts performers in an extra-curricular creative arts program may be dropped through the final performance of that program.
  3. School officers will be removed from office and from the leadership class.
  4. A student not currently involved in any extra-curricular activities at the time of the infraction will be suspended from all extra-curricular activities for six weeks from the date of the infraction or from the date of the discovery of the infraction, whichever is later. If the suspensions referred to in lines a-d above occur with less than six school weeks left in the remainder of a season/activity in which the student is involved, the student shall also be suspended from any further extra-curricular activities until a date six school weeks from the date of the original suspension.
  5. When students go on overnight events such as athletic tournaments, they are to understand that the entire trip from time of departure to time of return, whether by school bus or private vehicle, is part of the event, and any use or possession of alcohol or illegal drugs during this time will be deemed to be a violation occurring during school time. Rules governing chaperones’ procedures on such trips and definitions of what constitutes possession of illegal drugs or alcohol may be found on page 27 of this handbook.
All directors of extra-curricular activities and all coaches must report all instances of alcohol or drug use (as outlined above) on the part of students involved in their activity or sport to the principal.

Use of Tobacco

The school strongly discourages the use of tobacco by students. Students smoking or chewing tobacco or using any products containing tobacco or nicotine on school grounds or at any school sponsored activity are subject to school discipline. They are also subject to whatever team discipline their coach or activity director may feel is appropriate because of the nature of their activity. They are not, however, subject to any exclusion from extra-curricular activities by the school administration unless their use of tobacco on school grounds results in their repeated suspension from school itself.

Probation

Under specific circumstances, three types of probation are available to students who have been declared ineligible. These are as follows:

Probation for Incoming Freshmen

Incoming freshmen with less than a 2.0 g.p.a. or more than one citizenship “U” on their final 8th grade report card who wish to participate in a sport may request a probationary eligibility period during the first quarter of their 9th grade year only. Interested freshmen may apply to the assistant principal for this probationary status. If granted probation, the student’s behavior and academic progress are monitored until the progress report of 1st quarter. While the student participates in practices and benched during games permission to begin to participate in games will depend on the information on the progress report. Freshmen granted this status also do a minimum of one work detail for the team coach during this time. Details are available from the assistant principal.

Ineligible with Permission to Work Out with Team

Students who are ineligible for participation in athletic competition solely because of academic or citizenship grades are sometimes allowed to practice with the team even though they cannot suit up or play in the games or travel with the team if such travel means missing classes. Permission to do so must be sought first from the individual coach, and then from the Principal or designee, who shall determine whether it is in the student’s or the school’s best interest to permit this exception. If granted this permission, a student who becomes ineligible midseason and who is receiving P.E. Athletics credit for playing a team sport may, at the discretion of the principal, receive full credit. No partial credit will be issued for a partial season.

Regular Probation

All students who have been declared ineligible solely because of unsatisfactory citizenship grades or because of excessive unexcused absences may apply for probationary eligibility for extra-curricular activities under the circumstances outlined below. (Students with less than a 2.0 academic average may not apply for this probation.) The intent in establishing this probationary system is to alter self-destructive student behavior or attendance problems in a positive direction while simultaneously providing for full student participation in extra-curricular activities.

A student may apply for probation for the current quarter if he/she has no more than 3 citizenship “U’s” on his/her most recent report card. (This refers to regular quarter grades only, not to interim progress reports.)
A student may apply for probation for the current quarter if he/she has not been on regular probation at any time in the past two years or on freshman probation during the current year.
The application for regular probation shall consist of a letter written by the student and addressed to the Principal, stating
1. the reasons that probation is being requested,
2. why, in the student’s view, he/she has received the unsatisfactory citizenship grades, or why the particular behavior or attendance problem leading to a declaration of ineligibility took place, and
3. how his/her behavior will be changed to avoid unsatisfactory grades in the future.

The letter must be signed by the student and by the student’s parent or guardian. While the application is being considered, the student will be ineligible for participation in any games, performances, or events. The Principal will determine at the time of the application whether the student may or may not practice with the team while the application is being considered, if that is an appropriate issue.

The application for probation must be filed within one week of the original declaration of ineligibility (except in the summer when school is not in session), whether that ineligibility was declared on a schoolwide list based on grades posted for a regular grading period or was declared in the middle of a quarter because of excessive cutting or other behavior by a particular student.

The student’s behavior between the declaration of ineligibility and the consideration of the application for probation shall be a factor in the Principal’s decision whether to grant the probation. The intent of this aspect of the rule is to alter the student’s behavior as soon as possible in midstream. It is hoped this will discourage a student with already poor attendance from continuing the poor attendance pattern for a long period of time before he/she applies for probation just in time for the beginning of a particular sports season or other extra-curricular event.

If the Principal grants the student’s request for probation, he/she shall state in writing to the student the expiration date of the probationary period, the penalties which shall accompany the probation (such as being benched for a limited number of games or events), and the conditions under which the probation will be revoked. It is to be expected that the administrator will impose conditions pertinent to individual student problems and will require public service to the school or community throughout the sport or activity season from each student approved for probation.

A student who is granted probation will be monitored by the assistant principal for the entire sport or activity season. Students on probation will present to the assistant principal a weekly evaluation of their work signed by each teacher. After reviewing these evaluations, the assistant principal will determine whether the student is eligible for the next game or event and will issue a permission slip to those deemed eligible, which must be presented by the student to the coach or activity director. No coach will permit a probationary student to participate in a game or event unless the student presents such a valid permission slip approved by a school administrator.

BSAL Notice Concerning Sportsmanship

The member schools of the Bay Shore Athletic League aspire to high standards of sportsmanship. Coaches, players, spirit squads, fans and school officials are responsible for safe and orderly athletic contests that promote fair play and healthy competition. In games, these expectations must be honored:

Athletes are alcohol and drug free.
Opposing teams receive respect.
The integrity and judgments of officials are appreciated.
Game rules are observed.
Players, coaches, fans and officials exhibit composure.
Contests are free of trash talk, taunts and abusive gestures.
Spirit signs and cheers show only positive support for teams.
Noise-makers are never used.

Thank you for supporting the BSAL to insure the best of sportsmanlike environments! Piedmont High School abides by the NCS Ejection Policy which every student participating in sports signs at the beginning of the school year.

Transferring from one school to another school may affect your athletic eligibility under North Coast Section, CIF and/or State CIF rules. It is your responsibility to see your school principal for a copy of the rules.