TO: The Principal, Athletic Director of Each Member School; District School Superintendents; District Athletic Directors

FROM: John A. Stewart, Ed.D., Commissioner

DATE: September 7, 2005

RE: Eligibility of Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

CC: FHSAA Board of Directors
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The FHSAA office continues to receive inquiries from member schools asking questions relative to the eligibility of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Hopefully, this memorandum will clarify our previous advisory and answer all your questions.


1. The FHSAA Office considers the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina to be “events that are/were beyond the control of the student and/or his/her parent or guardian.” Consequently, the FHSAA is granting a provisional undue hardship eligibility waiver to all students displaced from their homes and communities by this storm and relocating to Florida communities and schools.

Q: Who is a displaced student?
A: A student from the Alabama, Louisiana or Mississippi Gulf Coasts who has been rendered temporarily homeless by the effects of Hurricane Katrina and who has been relocated to Florida by his/her parents/guardians, regardless of whether the student continues to live with his/her parents/guardians or with other relatives or family friends.

Q: What about existing Florida students?
A: The FHSAA Office has not been made aware of any existing Florida students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Consequently, the provisional undue hardship eligibility waiver does not apply to any student already enrolled in an FHSAA member school.


2. The displaced student is permitted to represent your school in interscholastic competition once the student is enrolled in your school, has submitted a signed “Consent and Release from Liability Certificate” (Form EL3) and has provided proof that he/she has undergone a physical evaluation for this school year. There, however, is one exception. A relocated football player must practice three (3) days in shorts – focusing on conditioning – before he can be permitted to wear pads and engage in bodily contact with other players or sleds. The health and safety of the student-athlete is paramount.

Q: Must the displaced student make up any work missed because he/she was not enrolled in our school within the first 10 days before he/she is permitted to participate (Bylaw 11.1.2)?
A: No.

Q: What if the displaced student did not relocate to Florida with his/her parents/guardians, but rather has been sent here to live with other relatives or family friends? Who is permitted to sign the “Consent and Release from Liability Certificate?”
A: The individual with whom the displaced student is now living, provided he/she is an adult, is considered to be “in loco parentis” and can give consent for the student to participate.

Q: What if the displaced student cannot provide proof that he/she already has undergone a physical evaluation for this year?
A: The displaced student must undergo a physical evaluation by a licensed practitioner in Florida and provide a fully completed Form EL2, “Preparticipation Physical Evaluation,” to you. Again, the adult individual with whom the student is now living can sign for the parent/guardian on the medical history questionnaire.

Q: What if the displaced student already had been practicing football in full gear at his home school before the storm? Does he still have to go three days in shorts before he can put on pads and hit?
A: Yes. The three-day restriction is mandatory. Even if the student was practicing football before Katrina he hasn't practiced in at least a week. The health and safety of the student-athlete must come first. It is the school's responsibility to see to it that the student-athlete is properly conditioned before permitting him to block and tackle.


3. You must make your best effort to determine the eligibility of the displaced student with regard to academic standing, limit of eligibility and age. If the student cannot provide a transcript and birth certificate (doubtful, given the circumstances), you should attempt to contact by email the office of the state association of which the student’s home school was a member and ask them if the student was submitted to their office as eligible by his/her school. Email addresses are as follows:

• Alabama High School Athletic Association : staff@ahsaa.com
• Alabama Independent School Association : sbazzle@aisaonline.org
• Louisiana High School Athletic Association : lhsaa@lhsaa.org
• Mississippi High School Activities Association : webmaster@misshsaa.com
• Mississippi Private School Association : renee@mpsa.org

The student will be considered eligible for the first semester in Florida if the student was eligible in his/her home state according to that state association’s rules. Beginning with the spring semester, however, the student’s academic eligibility will be determined by FHSAA rules in accordance with Florida statutes.

Q: Must we hold the displaced student out of competition until we get confirmation of his/her eligibility from the state association office in his/her home state?
A: No. You may allow the displaced student to participate in competition once you have the consent and release form and preparticipation physical evaluation form on file. It may take time to get confirmation of the student’s eligibility from the other state association. Their staffs are overwhelmed (and we know this from experience) just dealing with their own storm-related problems right now. If the state association office responds that the student is not eligible according to their rules, remove the student from competition and contact the FHSAA Office. Your school will be held harmless.

Q: Other states do not require a cumulative 2.0 grade point average for academic eligibility. What if we learn from the other state association office that the displaced student is academically eligible in his/her home state, but not according to our rules?
A: Unless you get the displaced student’s actual transcript, it doesn’t matter. The FHSAA is accepting academic eligibility standards from other states for these students for the fall semester. If they were academically eligible in Alabama, Louisiana or Mississippi, whichever state they’re from, they will be considered academically eligible here – but for the fall semester only.

Q: What about the spring semester? There’s a good chance we won’t be able to get a transcript on the displaced student by then, either.
A: Nevertheless, beginning with the spring semester, the displaced student must abide by Florida’s 2.0 cumulative GPA standard for academic eligibility. If you happen to get the student’s transcript from his/her previous school then figure the cumulative GPA as you would any other student relocating to your school (including the students grades before arriving in your school and his/her fall semester grades in your school). If you don’t have the transcript then figure the student’s GPA based solely on his/her fall semester grades in your school.


4. All residence and transfer rules are waived one time for the benefit of each displaced student. That means the student is considered eligible with regard to residence and transfer in the first Florida school that he/she enrolls. If the student after enrolling in one Florida school transfers attendance to another Florida school during the 2005-06 school year he/she will be subject to the provisions of all rules relating to transfer students.

Q: The displaced student already was enrolled in and/or practicing at his her school before Hurricane Katrina struck. Does this matter?
A: No. The student is eligible to participate in any fall sport once the consent and release form and preparticipation physical evaluation forms are on file in your office.

Q: The displaced student is not living with his/her parent/guardian or other individual with whom he has been living. He/she has been sent to our community to live with relatives or friends. Does this matter?
A: No.

Q: Does the displaced student have to wait until the sixth day following enrollment (Bylaw 11.4.7) to compete?
A: No.


5. You must complete Form EL10, “Request for Eligibility Ruling,” on each displaced student and fax it to the FHSAA Office (352.373.1528). Include whatever information you have on the student and whether you have been successful in confirming his/her eligibility in his/her home state. IT IS NOT NECESSARY THAT YOU AWAIT A RESPONSE FROM THE FHSAA OFFICE BEFORE PERMITTING THE STUDENT TO PARTICIPATE.


QUESTIONS? Contact Bill Grey, Associate Commissioner, in the FHSAA Office by e-mail at bgrey@fhsaa.org or by phone at (352) 372.9551 ext. 110.


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