Academic/Activity Eligibility - Board Policy 504.8
A student must be a full time student to participate in interscholastic school-sponsored activities. A full time student is defined as one who is enrolled in (six) full credit courses per semester. Students must be working toward a Pella High School regular diploma and be in grades 9-12 to participate in any High School activity/sport. The exception to this rule is 8th grade students are eligible to participate in High School softball and baseball.
*A full credit course is considered to be a class that meets on a daily basis with the exception of post secondary correspondence.
Iowa Department of Education Eligibility - Iowa Code: Scholarship Rule 281
The Iowa Department of Education in accordance with Scholarship Rule 36.15 (2) requires a student must have passed all subjects and make adequate progress toward graduation to remain eligible at the end of a semester. If not passing all at the end of a semester, then the student is ineligible for the next 30 calendar days effective on the day grades are submitted to the office at the end of each semester for student athletes that are in season OR the first allowable date of competition for students not currently in season. This date is determined by the girls/boys state association(s) (Iowa High School Athletic Association-IHSAA, www.iahsaa.org/; Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union-IGHSAU, www.ighsau.org) in the interscholastic athletic event. If they are passing all classes after the 30 calendar days of ineligibility, then they will become eligible to participate in interscholastic activities. A student is to submit a grade report to the Activities Director verifying a passing grade to regain eligibility. (local rule). Updated guidance on the state Scholarship Rule 36.15 (2)State Association Non-Athletic Activity Policy
State association non-athletic activity policies (Iowa High School Speech Association: http://www.ihssa.org/, Iowa High School Music Association: http://www.ihsma.org/, Iowa State Drill Team Association: http://www.isdta.net/, Iowa Cheerleading Coaches Association: http://www.iowacheercoaches.org/), require a student must have passed all subjects and make adequate progress toward graduation to remain eligible at the end of a semester. If not passing all at the end of a semester, then the student is ineligible for the next 30 calendar days effective on the first day of the next semester season is currently in session OR effective on the first allowable date competition as determined by locally (the state associations listed above do not determined official start days like the Boys and Girls High School Athletic Unions) in any competitive school activity. If they are passing all classes after the 30 days of ineligibility, then they will become eligible to participate in interscholastic activities.
Pella CSD Athletic/Activity Eligibility - Board Policy 504.8
Pella Community High School requires a student to have passed the equivalent of four (4) full credit courses at the midterm (9/27 week grade post) of each semester to be eligible to participate in an extracurricular activity/contest. A student who did not pass the equivalent of four (4) full credit courses may regain eligibility after 30 calendar days if they are passing the equivalent of four (4) full credit courses. The student must produce a grade report to administration indicating he/she is passing four (4) full credit courses to regain his/her eligibility at the end 30 calendar days. If the student is not passing four (4) full credit courses at the end of 30 calendar days, they may regain eligibility as soon as they produce a grade report indicating they are passing. To regain ineligibility, a student is to submit a grade report to the Activities Director verifying a passing grade to regain eligibility. (local rule).
*A full credit course is considered to be a class that meets on a daily basis with the exception of post secondary correspondence.
Attendance Eligibility - Board Policy 501.9
In order for a student to participate in an interscholastic event he/she must attend all classes and study halls in a normal school day of the event. An approved absence the day of an event must be submitted in writing (written or electronic) to the main high school office and the Activities Office by 9:00am of the day of the absence. Failure to comply with this regulation will result in being ineligible for participation in any extracurricular event/performance on the day they were absent. Any student serving an in-school OR out-of-school suspension will be ineligible to practice or perform in an event for the day(s) they are suspended. A student serving an out-of-school suspension is not allowed on school property or allowed to attend school events, home and away until reinstated by administration.
Students on Athletic Teams Participating in Non-School Sports - Board Policy 504.10
A high school student who participates in a school-sponsored sport may participate in that same non-school sponsored sport during the same season. Such outside participation shall not conflict with the school athletic activity.
Transfer Student Eligibility
Students transferring into the Pella Community School District are immediately governed by all policies of this district, including the policies on student discipline. Any student declared ineligible to participate in any sport or other activity by his/her prior district, and being ineligible at the time of transfer to the Pella Community School District, will remain ineligible for that sport or activity until the full period of ineligibility has been completed according to the policies of the Pella Community School District. Once the period of ineligibility has been completed, the student will regain eligibility according to the policies of the Pella Community School District and the transfer student policy(s) of the IHSAA and IGHSAU.