By Christopher Moore, Fox23 News
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) member schools passed seven changes to four of the organization’s rules.
The proposed changes were developed through the Rules Review Committee which has been tasked with conducting a review of all 24 of the organization’s rules in batches.
The rule changes approved involve scholastic eligibility, regaining eligibility, senior eligibility, summer school credit, student organization eligibility, dual residence, and link rule.
For scholastic eligibility, students participating in OSSAA-sanctioned activities are required to have passed all classes from the previous semester, rather than five subjects.
To regain eligibility, academically ineligible students will now regain it after having three weeks of passing all classes, instead of six weeks.
Students will now be able to use up to two summer school credits toward meeting scholastic eligibility requirements instead of just one.
OSSAA removed a provision that makes students ineligible for membership in an organization that violates state law or local school board regulatons and subjects schools that violate the rule to a one-year suspension.
The organization will now allow a one-time dual residence exception for a family moving into a new school district while maintaining its primary residence in the home district.
OSSAA is also allowing an exception to the Link Rule for students returning to their home district of residence, while still prohibiting participation in the same sport at two schools during the same year.
“Rules governing high school activities directly impact students’ futures, which is why the process for reviewing and changing them must be thoughtful and transparent,” said David Jackson, executive director of OSSAA, in a statement issued. “Regulating such a diverse set of schools is no easy task, and we know fairness is a key concern, which is why OSSAA’s governing structure outlines that member schools from across the state all have a voice in these decisions.”
