Buffalo (N.Y.) Public Schools is asking for input from the community on a draft of new eligibility requirements for high school student-athletes.
If the draft language is accepted, classroom performance and credits accrued toward graduation will replace attendance as the decisive in-school metrics.
“Community feedback is vital,” Ramona Reynolds, chief of athletics, community schools, family and community engagement for Buffalo Schools told the Buffalo News. “We hope people show up to the meeting and know that nothing has been decided.”
The district has already posted a draft of the new eligibility requirements on its website for community review.
Once the community offers feedback, the document will be evaluated by the athletic administration and presented to Superintendent Tonja M. Williams and then the Buffalo School Board for approval. The new eligibility requirements would go into effect in fall 2024, Reynolds said.
Buffalo's current requirements for student-athletes include passing a physical examination, participating n physical education classes and attend math, English, social studies and science classes.
The basics of the proposed draft include:
- The physical requirements will continue.
- Incoming freshmen would be automatically eligible for fall sports, but at 20 weeks, students must be passing five classes (65+) to be eligible for spring sports.
- For sophomores to be eligible for fall sports, they must have completed five credits toward graduation. Twenty weeks into their sophomore year, they must be passing five classes (65+) to be eligible for spring sports.
- Juniors are similar to sophomores, except they must have 11 credits before the fall semester to be eligible.
- Seniors must have 17 credits at the beginning of the year to be eligible for fall sports, and to be eligible for spring, they must be passing at least five classes – or all of their classes if they are taking fewer than five.
“It’s a balanced message,” Reynolds said. “We want students to be involved in athletics, but we want them to uphold their academics.”
