Comprehensive revision to FHSAA Bylaws Article 3, "Membership"
Below is the complete text of the revised FHSAA Bylaws governing membership, which took immediate effect with its adoption by the 2007 FHSAA Representative Assembly on Jan. 22.
3.01 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
3.01.1 Opportunity for Membership. A middle/junior high school, a senior high school and a home education cooperative located in Florida may be a member of the Association if it meets and honors the qualifications, conditions and obligations of membership established in this article.
3.01.2 Classifications. Senior high school members may be divided into classifications for purposes of competition in FHSAA championships. The Board of Directors will adopt the criteria for determining these classifications.
3.01.3 Assignment to Geographical Areas. Member schools are assigned to geographical areas for the purpose of representation in the FHSAA governance structure and substructures.
3.01.4 Deadlines. When deadline dates fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday as established by Florida Law, the deadline shall be the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.
3.01.5 Termination of Membership. All privileges of a member school will cease immediately when its membership ends.
3.02 GENERAL DEFINITIONS
3.02.1 Member School. A “member school” is a senior high school, middle/junior high school or home education cooperative that is provisionally admitted or duly elected to membership in the Association. Member school not only refers to the institution, but also to its administration, faculty, athletic staff, student-athletes, student body, and any other individual or group engaged in activities representing, supporting or promoting the athletic interests of the school.
| 3.02.1.1 Restricted Member. A “restricted member” is a member school that has its membership privileges restricted in some manner because it fails to meet the qualifications, conditions and obligations of membership. |
3.02.2 Provisional Period. The “provisional period” is the first two years of a school’s membership that precedes the school’s election to full membership. During the two-year provisional period, the school can participate in regular season interscholastic competition with member schools, but will have no other privileges of membership.
3.02.3 Types of Member Schools
3.02.3.1 Senior High School. A “senior high school” is any traditional public school, charter school, private school or university laboratory school that provides instruction to students at one or more grade levels from 9 through 12.
3.02.3.2 Middle/Junior High School. A “middle/junior high school” is any traditional public school, charter school, private school or university laboratory school that provides instruction to students in middle school configurations (grades 6 through 8) or junior high school configurations (grades 7 through 9).
3.02.3.3 Combination School. A “combination school” is any traditional public school, charter school, private school or university laboratory school that provides instruction to students in both middle/junior high school grades and senior high school grades. A combination school must hold membership as a senior high school.
3.02.3.4 Home Education Cooperative. A “home education cooperative” is a parent-directed group of individual home education students that provides opportunities for interscholastic athletic competition to those students. |
3.02.4 Principal. A “principal” is the administrator responsible for the day-to-day operation of a school, whether the individual’s specific title is principal, headmaster, director, administrator, head of school or otherwise. The principal is the authority responsible for the conduct of the school’s interscholastic athletic programs.
3.02.5 FHSAA Representative. An “FHSAA representative” is the school administrator who represents the school in its relationship with the Association. The FHSAA representative is the principal, unless the principal delegates the task to an assistant principal or the athletic director. The principal, however, cannot delegate the ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the school’s interscholastic athletic programs.
3.02.6 Approved Nonmember School. An “approved nonmember school” is a school that is not a member of the Association but has been approved to compete against member schools in regular season dual competitions only.
3.02.7 School Year. A “school year” is the annual period beginning on July 1 of one calendar year and ending on June 30 of the next calendar year.
3.1 QUALIFICATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
3.1.1 Schools. A senior high school or middle/junior high school located in the state of Florida may become a member if:
(a) The school is registered with the Florida Department of Education;
(b) The school is accredited by an agency approved by the Association;
(c) The governing body of the school approves the school’s membership in the Association and adopts these bylaws as the rules governing its interscholastic athletic programs;
(d) The principal applies for membership on a form provided for that purpose;
(e) The school pays all dues and other fees required of member schools;
(f) The school maintains the insurance coverage required of member schools;
(g) The school provides the principal, the FHSAA representative and the athletic director with high-speed Internet access and email accounts;
(h) The school successfully completes a two-year provisional period; and
(i) The Board of Directors elects the school to membership.
3.1.1.1 Approved Accrediting Agencies. Accreditation for purposes of membership will be accepted from the following agencies:
(a) Association of Christian Schools International;
(b) Association of Independent Schools of Florida;
(c) Christian Schools of Florida;
(d) Council of Bilingual Schools;
(e) Episcopal Diocese of Florida;
(f) Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools;
(g) Florida Catholic Conference;
(h) Florida Conference of Seventh-Day Adventist Schools;
(i) Florida Council of Independent Schools;
(j) Florida League of Christian Schools;
(k) Lutheran Schools Florida-Georgia District;
(l) National Independent Private School Association;
(m) Florida Coalition of Christian Private Schools Association; and
(n) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
3.1.1.2 Existing Members Without Accreditation. A school that is a full member as of June 30, 2007, but is not accredited by an approved agency, will have a maximum of three (3) years to earn accreditation.
3.1.1.3 Loss of Accreditation. A member school that loses its accreditation will have a maximum of three (3) years to regain accreditation. No privileges of membership will be withheld during this three-year period.
3.1.1.4 Exemption from Accreditation Requirement. A middle/junior high school is exempt from the accreditation requirement.
3.1.1.5 Boarding Schools. The Board of Directors will establish additional qualifications and conditions for recognition of member boarding schools whose boarding students participate in interscholastic competition. |
3.1.2 Home Education Cooperatives. A home education cooperative located in the state of Florida may become a member if:
(a) The governing board of the cooperative adopts these bylaws as the rules governing its interscholastic athletic programs;
(b) The principal applies for membership on a form provided for that purpose;
(c) The cooperative pays all dues and other fees required of member schools;
(d) The cooperative maintains the insurance coverage required of member schools;
(e) The cooperative successfully completes a two-year provisional period;
(f) The cooperative provides the principal, the FHSAA representative and the athletic director with high-speed Internet access and email accounts; and
(g) The Board of Directors elects the cooperative to membership.
| 3.1.2.1 Student Members. Each student member of a cooperative must be registered as a home-educated student with the district superintendent in the school district in which the student resides and meet all other requirements of a home education student as written in Florida Statutes. |
3.2 PROVISIONAL PERIOD
3.2.1 Requirements of Provisional Period. A two-year provisional period will begin with a school’s first year of membership. During the provisional period the school must demonstrate an understanding of and comply with all bylaws and other rules of the Association. The school also must satisfy the additional specific requirements of each year of the provisional period.
3.2.1.1 First Year. During the first year of the provisional period:
(a) The school must be represented at an FHSAA compliance seminar by its principal, FHSAA representative and athletic director; and
(b) The school must complete and submit a self-study and evaluation of its interscholastic athletic programs in a form prescribed by the Board of Directors;
3.2.1.2 Second Year. During the second year of the provisional period:
(a) The school must be represented at an FHSAA compliance seminar by either its principal, FHSAA representative or athletic director; and
(b) The school must submit to an onsite inspection of its interscholastic athletic programs. |
3.2.2 Extension of Provisional Period. The Board of Directors may extend the provisional period to a third year at the request of a school that has not qualified for full membership at the end of the two-year period. A provisional member that has not qualified for full membership at the end of the third year, if granted, may be assigned as a restricted member or apply for approved nonmember school status.
3.2.3 Exemption From Provisional Period. A newly opening school created by the consolidation or division of the student populations of existing member schools is exempt from the two-year provisional period if:
(a) The new school is governed by the same board as the existing member schools; and
(b) The new school meets all other qualifications and conditions of full membership.
3.2.4 Privileges During Provisional Period. A provisional member can participate in regular season interscholastic competition with member schools, but will have no other privileges of membership.
3.3 OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
A member school must control its interscholastic athletic programs in accordance with these bylaws and other rules of the Association. Responsibility for this control rests with the principal, who is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the school’s interscholastic athletic programs.
| 3.3.1.1 Scope of Responsibility. Responsibility for control of a school’s interscholastic athletic programs extends to and includes responsibility for and control over the actions of the school’s administration, faculty, athletic staff, student-athletes, student body, and any other individual or group engaged in activities representing, supporting or promoting the athletic interests of the school. |
3.3.2 Compliance with Rules. A member school must comply with all bylaws and other rules of the Association. The school must monitor its programs to assure compliance, must identify and report to the FHSAA office instances in which compliance has not been achieved, and must take appropriate corrective actions. Staff members, student-athletes and other individuals and groups representing, supporting or promoting the school’s athletic interests must comply with applicable bylaws and rules. The school is responsible for such compliance.
3.3.2.1 Eligibility of Student-Athletes. A member school must certify the eligibility of all student-athletes. The school must not permit a student-athlete to participate in interscholastic competition unless the student-athlete meets all eligibility requirements.
3.3.2.2 Cooperation with Association. A member school must fully cooperate in the investigation of any alleged violation. A school that refuses to permit the interview of any individual, to grant access to and inspection of pertinent records, to submit relevant information to the Association upon request, or otherwise interferes with or obstructs the investigation, will be in violation of this provision.
3.3.2.3 Attendance at Compliance Seminar. A member school, at least once every three years, must be represented by either its principal, FHSAA representative, or athletic director at an FHSAA compliance seminar.
3.3.2.4 Self-Study and Evaluation. A member school, once every five years, must complete and submit to the FHSAA office a self-study and evaluation of its interscholastic athletic programs in a form prescribed by the Board of Directors.
3.3.2.5 Compliance Audit. The FHSAA office may audit member schools to verify compliance with bylaws and other rules of the Association. A school selected for audit must fully cooperate with the audit. A school that refuses to grant access to and inspection of records under audit or refuses to permit the interview of any individual responsible for maintaining those records, or otherwise interferes with or obstructs the audit, will be in violation of this provision. |
3.3.3 Insurance Coverage. A member school must provide athletic accident medical insurance coverage, catastrophic accident insurance coverage, and catastrophic disability insurance coverage for each of its student-athletes. The school also must provide general liability insurance coverage for itself. The Board of Directors will establish the minimum limits for each type of insurance coverage.
3.3.4 Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. A member school must establish policies that promote sportsmanship and ethical conduct in its interscholastic athletic programs. These policies must require student-athletes, coaches and all other individuals associated with the school’s interscholastic athletic programs to adhere to such fundamental values as respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility. The school must educate, on a continuing basis, all staff members, student-athletes, student body, and other individuals and groups representing, supporting or promoting the school’s athletic interests about these policies.
3.3.5 Acceptance of Decisions. A member school must accept in good faith the decisions of the Association. A member school that, by any act or attitude, refuses to accept a decision of the Association, or holds in contempt or derision the decision, or permits or acquiesces in any contempt or derision on the part of any group or individual associated with the school may be expelled or assigned to restricted membership. This provision does not deny a member school the right to due process within the Association as provided in these bylaws.
3.4 APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
3.4.1 First-Time Membership. The principal of a school applying for first-time membership must submit a complete application packet. The application packet must be received in the FHSAA office on or before April 30 for the school to be considered for admission in the following school year.
3.4.1.1 Application Packet.
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