07/31/20- Bylaw and Policy Revisions/Waivers Due to Covid-19

August 3, 2020 2020-2021 News Releases

THIS POST IS OBSOLETE AS OF THE CONCLUSION OF THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR AND IS MAINTAINED ONLY FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSES

The following Bylaw and policy considerations and revisions were reviewed by the Commissioner and approved by the Board of Control during the current pandemic emergency.

• Bylaw 3 – Maximum Number of Years
  • There will be no waiver of the maximum number of semesters or additional eligibility for those students whose seasons are canceled due to Covid-19 and subsequent actions. For details and review, see the link at Click Here for Complete Details
• Bylaw 4 – Eligibility to participate by being enrolled.
  • State regulations (not just KHSAA rules) set a minimum participation standard. In short, a student who is considered full-time enrolled (as verified through Infinite Campus or comparable system for those that do not use Infinite Campus) is eligible to represent a member school.
  • A district may always place a tougher standard on students, but may not make a more lenient one. As such, the KHSAA is not able to restrict students enrolled in full- or part-time virtual education from participation, but such can be done by the member school through its Board of Education or School-Based Decision Policies.
  • The student must still be full-time (at least four hours of the six-hour school day) but is not excluded from athletics solely because of enrollment in virtual classes.
• Bylaw 5 – Minimum Academic Requirement
  • On the first date for the school year, Bylaw 5, Sec. 1 requires a student to be “on schedule” to graduate per the credit requirement of his/her class. Due to the multitude of situations existing during last spring’s shutdown and adjustments made to credits in local districts, this requirement was summarily waived as a statewide requirement for the 2020-21 school year.
  • Local schools and districts may use the existing standard as desired or may establish any other means of determining the proper grade level for all students.
  • The student continues to need to be enrolled full-time (at least four hours of the six-hour school day) and passing in four classes for the year to be eligible.
• Bylaw 6-7-8 – Transfer Rules – Bylaw 6. Transfer Rule – Citizens Of The U.S. And D.C. And Other Students Previously Enrolled In Member Schools, Bylaw 7. Transfer Rule – Students Having J-1/F-1 Status, Bylaw 8. Transfer Rule – Non-U.S. Students Not Having J-1/F-1 Status
  • There will be no specific waiver for Covid-19 based transfers both from out of state and in-state. The existing exceptions will remain in place.
  • A school or state moving or canceling an athletic season is not determined to be the cessation of a sport as detailed in exception (j) of the Bylaw 6.
• Bylaw 9 – Basketball/Football Contestant On Other Teams, Postseason And All-Star Games
  
  • Restriction for fall events before the official start of practice being limited to one day will be removed to comport with changes in NCAA Division I and II allowances for coaches.
  • Allowances will be made to allow students to attend and participate only in events where NCAA Division I and II coaches are permitted to attend in person and evaluate.
• Bylaw 12 – Physical Examination, Parental Consent, and Insurance
  • There will be no waiver or request for a waiver of the requirement for an annual physical exam. The requirements appear in Bylaw 12 and as stipulated in KRS 156.070(2)(d).
• Bylaw 22 – Contests, Sanctions, Contracts, Rules, Forfeitures, Faculty To Accompany and
  Bylaw 23 – Limitation of Seasons
  
  • There will be no interscholastic scrimmages allowed this year for fall sports
  • Various adjustments were made to the contest allowances and limitations including the delay of the start of fall play. Complete details are available by clicking here on this link
• Bylaw 24 – Summer Sports And Sport-Activities
  
  • For 2020 ONLY, the dead period of June 25 to July 9 was waived by the Board of Control.
• Bylaw 25 – Requirement for Coaches and Others Working With High School Teams Including Athletic Directors
  • A waiver was approved allowing for coaches to complete the CPR, First Aid, and AED requirements online beginning immediately. This change has been incorporated into revisions in 702 KAR 7:065 for the future.
  • The requirement of 12 hours of continuous improvement for veteran Athletic Directors and 18 hours of continuous improvement for Athletic Directors in their first three years was suspended for the 2019-20 school year.
• Competition Rules
  • Numerous amendments to the competition rules have been made and will be ongoing in dealing with the pandemic. Early changes are listed in the post that can be accessed by clicking here on this link

The membership will be notified if any of this information is further revised.

-KHSAA-

About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 280 member schools both public and non-public. The KHSAA awards 215 state championships to 51 teams and 164 individuals in 13 sports and 6 sport-activities, funds catastrophic insurance coverage for its more than 106,000 rostered member school student-athletes, provides coaching education and sports safety programs for more than 12,000 coaches, and licenses and facilitates the distribution of training material for over 4,000 contest officials.