Membership application window for 2009-10 school year closed
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Continuing Membership – The complete application packet for continuing membership must be received in the FHSAA Office not later than Thursday, April 30 to avoid payment of a $50 late fee. The absolute last day an application packet can be received in the FHSAA Office and still be considered for continuing membership during the 2008-09 school year is Monday, June 1.
First-Time Membership – The complete application packet for first-time membership must be received in the FHSAA Office not later than Thursday, April 30. An application packet received after this deadline will not be processed for the 2009-10 school year. There is no second deadline for applications for first-time membership.
Approved Nonmember School Status – The complete application packet for approved nonmember school status must be received in the FHSAA Office not later than Thursday, April 30. An application packet received after this deadline will not be processed for the 2009-10 school year. There is no second deadline for applications for approved nonmember school status.
REGISTRATION WITH STATE OF FLORIDA
State law requires all schools – public and private – to register with the Florida Department of Education to do business as a school. A school must provide on its application form the school number that it has been issued school by the Florida Department of Education as proof that the school has registered with that state agency.
ACCREDITATION
A senior high school must be accredited by one of 14 approved accrediting agencies. Middle/junior high schools and home education cooperatives are exempt from the accreditation requirement. A current member senior high school that is not accredited by one of the 14 approved agencies has until the conclusion of the 2009-10 school year to earn the necessary accreditation. There will be no restrictions placed on the school's membership until that time. A prospective first-time member school that does not meet the accreditation requirement may be admitted for the two-year provisional period if it has made application to and has begun the accreditation process with one of the 14 approved agencies.
APPROVAL OF GOVERNING BOARD
Traditional public schools operated by the 67 school districts are authorized by state law to be members of the FHSAA. Private schools, charter schools, university laboratory schools and home education cooperatives, however, must have the approval of their respective governing boards to hold membership in the Association or to hold approved nonmember school status. Each of these schools and cooperatives must provide on its application form the date of the meeting at which its governing board gave this approval, and must have on file in the FHSAA office a copy of the minutes from that meeting. If a school cannot find any record of the governing board having given his approval, the school must seek this approval from the governing board at the next possible opportunity. The school’s application will be accepted conditionally pending receipt of the minutes of the meeting at which the governing board’s approval is given. A charter school or chartered university laboratory school also must report on its application form the name of the district school board or public university sponsoring its charter, the date the charter was approved, the term of the charter and the date the charter will expire. A copy of the charter must also be on file in the FHSAA office.
MEMBERSHIP DUES
The FHSAA Board of Directors has established the following membership dues for the 2008-09 school year:
• Continuing member senior high schools and home education cooperatives – Dues are calculated on the basis of 55 cents per student in grades 9 through 11 as reported on the Fall 2007 Student Population Report (minimum due is $330; maximum due is $1,100). Dues will be billed to the school on or before July 1. Payment of dues must be received in the FHSAA Office by August 31.
• First-time member senior high schools and home education cooperatives – Dues are calculated on the basis of 55 cents per student in grades 9 through 11 as reported on the Fall 2007 Student Population Report (minimum due is $330; maximum due is $1,100). Dues will be billed to the school after Fall 2007 Student Population Report is received. Payment of dues must be received in the FHSAA Office by December 31.
• Middle/junior high schools – Dues are a flat $220, and will be billed to the school on or before July 1. Payment of dues must be received in the FHSAA Office by August 31.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
The FHSAA Board of Directors has established the following membership fees for the 2008-09 school year:
• Application fee – Schools applying for first-time membership and approved nonmember school status must pay a $150 nonrefundable application fee. Payment of this fee must be included with the application. The $150 will be applied toward the first-year dues for a school applying for first-time membership if it is admitted.
• Legal fee – The legal fee for continuing member middle/junior high schools is $25. The legal fee for continuing member senior high schools and continuing member home education cooperatives is calculated by subtracting the combined amount of legal fees paid by middle/junior high schools from the total legal expenses incurred by the Association during the 2006-07 school year and equally dividing the balance among all continuing member senior high schools and continuing member home education cooperatives. First-year members are not assessed legal fees. Legal fees are billed and are payable at the same times as membership dues.
• FIAAA membership fee – The FHSAA Board of Directors requires the athletic directors of all member schools to hold membership in the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA). The FIAAA membership fee of $25 is billed to all first-year and continuing members, and is payable at the same time as membership dues.
INSURANCE COVERAGE
Each member school and approved nonmember school must purchase and maintain the following forms of insurance coverage:
• Athletic Medical Base Plan providing coverage to each student-athlete with minimum limits of $25,000 per individual for medical expenses. This coverage may be paid for by the school or offered to each student-athlete individually for purchase from an agency contracted by the school. The school is permitted to accept certification from the parents of a student-athlete that he/she has the required coverage through the family’s health insurance plan. Regardless of the manner in which the coverage is provided, the principal of the school must certify that each and every student-athlete will have this coverage before he or she is permitted to take part in any form of interscholastic athletic activity.
• Athletic Catastrophic Accident Medical Plan providing no-fault coverage to each student-athlete with minimum limits of $1 million for medical expenses in the event of a catastrophic injury resulting from participation in interscholastic athletic activities. This coverage is to be in excess of the $25,000 base medical plan, but may be written as part of the same policy.
• Athletic Catastrophic Disability Plan providing no-fault coverage to each student-athlete with minimum limits of $500,000 for total disability resulting from an injury sustained during participation in an interscholastic athletic activity. Structured pay-out benefits may vary. Coverage must also include some limited benefits for partial disability.
• General Liability Plan providing the school itself with general liability coverage with minimum limits of $1 million.
Each school must state on its application the policy number, effective date and expiration date for each policy that the school has purchased to provide this coverage. The principal must check whether the school purchases a plan that provides the athletic base medical coverage to all student-athletes, or whether the school requires each student-athlete to provide their own coverage through a family plan or through a school-offered plan that may be purchased by the student-athlete's family. Finally, each school must have on file in the FHSAA office a photocopy of the actual certificate of insurance for each form of coverage that has been issued to the school by the agency through which the coverage was purchased.
Insurance policies may expire at different dates throughout the school year. A member school must submit a copy of the certificate of renewal for a policy to the FHSAA Office when it is renewed. A school with an expired insurance certificate will be suspended from membership until it submits a certificate of renewal.
ADMITTANCE/ELECTION TO MEMBERSHIP
Submission of an application packet does not guarantee membership in the Association. The FHSAA Board of Directors must determine those schools that it will admit/elect to membership at its June 4-5, 2009, meeting in Orlando. First-time members are admitted to membership for the initial two-year provisional period. Once a school successfully completes the two-year provisional period it becomes eligible for election to general membership. Continuing members must be re-elected to membership each year.
The FHSAA Office will report to the Board of Directors whether a school's application meets fully the qualifications and conditions of membership. The FHSAA Office also will recommend whether the school should be admitted/elected to membership. If the FHSAA Office determines that it will not recommend a school for admittance/election to membership, the school will be given advance written notice as to the reason for the unfavorable recommendation. The school also will be advised of its right to appear before the Board of Directors at the June 4-5 meeting to explain why it should be admitted/elected to membership. The decision of the Board of Directors whether to admit/elect a school to membership must be by majority vote. The decision will be final.
PROVISIONAL PERIOD
A first-time member school must successfully complete a two-year provisional period before it is eligible for election to general membership in the FHSAA. During this two-year provisional period, the school is permitted one privilege of membership – the opportunity to compete against FHSAA member schools in preseason and regular season competition. The school will not be permitted to participate in any state championship series competition in any sport. Neither will any personnel at the school be permitted to run for election to any position in the FHSAA governance structure or sub-structures or vote in any FHSAA elections. A newly opening school that is created by the consolidation or division of existing member schools is exempt from these restrictions provided the newly opening school continues to be governed by the same board as the school or schools from which it was created.
During the first year of its provisional period, a school must satisfy the following requirements:
• Compliance Seminar – The school’s principal, athletic director and FHSAA representative must attend the annual FHSAA compliance seminar. This seminar will be held in four locations around the state. No deferrals are allowed for the summer of 2009. The FHSAA Office may allow that individual to delay his/her attendance until Summer 2009.
During the second year of its provisional period, a school must satisfy the following requirements:
• Compliance Seminar – The school must be represented by either the principal, athletic director or FHSAA representative at the annual FHSAA compliance seminar conducted that year.
APPROVED NONMEMBER SCHOOL
Approved nonmember school status is an option available to any private school or home education cooperative that does not qualify for membership in the FHSAA or does not wish to become a member of the FHSAA, but would like the opportunity to compete against FHSAA member schools. An approved nonmember school is not a member of the FHSAA and has no rights or privileges of membership. An approved nonmember school simply has the opportunity to participate in regular-season dual-team competitions with FHSAA member schools. An approved nonmember school cannot participate in a preseason classic or jamboree sanctioned by the FHSAA. Neither can it participate in any regular-season interscholastic event involving two or more FHSAA member schools, such as invitational tournaments, tri-matches or multi-school meets.
A school granted approved nonmember school status by the Board of Directors must comply with all FHSAA bylaws and rules, including the rules governing the eligibility of students, when participating in any competition with an FHSAA member school. For example, a school that permits fifth-year seniors to participate in interscholastic athletics cannot allow those fifth-year seniors to participate in competition against an FHSAA member school. Similarly, a school that determines academic eligibility on the basis of subjects passed in a 6-week or 9-week grading period must ensure that each of its student-athletes participating against an FHSAA member school has a cumulative unweighted grade point average of 2.0 or above through the conclusion of the previous semester.
Like member schools, a school seeking approved nonmember school status must have the approval of its governing board to do so and must purchase and maintain the insurance coverages required by the FHSAA Board of Directors.
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Director of Membership Services
Seth Polansky
Ph: (352) 372-9551 ext. 400
Fax: (352) 244-5050
spolansky@fhsaa.org
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