Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association
Tulsa Public Schools
Athletic Residence Eligibility Guidelines
- Athletic eligibility in Tulsa Public Schools is established by participation.
- Students are eligible in the school district in which they reside with their parents, i.e., their “home school”.
- Students who establish eligibility at their home school and make a bona fide move to another TPS school district, or move to a school district other than TPS (ex. Union, Owasso, Jenks, etc…) may be eligible at the new school.
- Any student in grades 6 through 12 who has attended a TPS school or it’s feeder program for the past three consecutive years, may, if his/her parents make a bona fide change of residence into another school district, select to remain at the school previously attended, provided the student continues to live with his/her parents. The student will make his/her selection by his/her attendance at a school the following semester.
- 5th grade students may transfer to any TPS middle school and be eligible for middle school sports at that school for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.
- 8th grade students may transfer to any TPS high school and be eligible for high school sports at that school for the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.
- A student in grades 9 through 11 who transfers to another District high school after establishing eligibility, will be eligible for JV participation and below, if both schools agree that the transfer was not for athletic purposes. The student will not be eligible for varsity participation until completing two semesters and meeting all other rules for eligibility.
- Students who establish high school eligibility on a transfer will not be eligible for varsity competition at their “home school” or any other TPS school until he/she has completed 2 semesters and met all other rules for eligibility.
- Sixth, seventh and eighth grade students who transfer to another middle school after establishing eligibility, will be eligible for athletic participation at the new school, provided both schools agree the transfer was not for athletic purposes.
- If a student in grades 6-12 changes schools after the first day of class, regardless of whether it is a transfer or a bona-fide move into the school district, that student will not be eligible for fifteen (15) calendar days from the date the student enrolled.
- TPS students in grades 8 through 12 who choose to attend a private school (Cascia Hall, Metro Christian, Bishop Kelley, or Victory Christian) after having participated in TPS, will not be eligible until completing 2 semesters at the new school.
- Guardianship and/or Affidavits are not recognized for eligibility purposes while either parent is living.
- All athletic eligibility requests between TPS schools and private schools shall be determined by the OSSAA.
Hardship Waivers
The Director of Athletics is authorized to grant exceptions to provisions of the local rules of the Tulsa Public Schools and reinstate a student to eligibility when it is determined that the local rules fail to accomplish the purposes for which they were intended, or when the rule works an undue hardship on the student. (Rule 8, Section 1, Paragraph O). Any student who feels aggrieved by the athletic eligibility decisions of the Director of Athletics may appeal the decision to the OSSAA.
Eligibility of Students Attending Alternative Schools
Any student placed in an alternative setting or any student serving an out of school suspension is not eligible to participate in any school-sponsored activities. Students who voluntarily attend an alternative school may participate in extracurricular activities including athletics at their home school.
Students returning to their home high school from an alternative education placement may be granted athletic eligibility at the home school. These students must meet the scholastic eligibility requirements as established by the OSSAA (Rule 3), and meet all other requirements of the alternative education placement.
Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association
Tulsa Public Schools
Athletic Academic/Age Eligibility Guidelines
- A student must have received a passing grade in any five subjects that he/she was enrolled in during the last semester he/she attended fifteen or more days. For block schedules that offer 8 or more credits during an 18-week grading period, a student must earn six credits counted toward graduation during that 18-week grading period.
- If a student does not meet the minimum scholastic standard he/she will not be eligible to participate during the first six weeks of the following semester. Ineligible athletes may practice; however, they may not participate in games or scrimmages. Suiting up is considered having participated.
- A student who did not meet the minimum academic standard may regain his/her eligibility by achieving passing grades in all subjects he/she is enrolled in, at the end of a six-week period. If the ineligible student is passing all classes on this date, he/she has regained their academic eligibility and may participate without restriction.
- Weekly eligibility for students will be checked after three weeks (during the fourth week) of a semester and each succeeding week thereafter. For block scheduling, scholastic eligibility will be checked after two weeks (during the third week) of the 1st and 3rd block and each succeeding week thereafter, and at the end if the first week of the second and fourth block and each succeeding week thereafter.
- If a student is not passing all classes on the day of the grade check, he/she will be placed on probation for the next one-week period. If a student is still failing one or more classes during the next week on the grade check day, he/she will be ineligible to participate during the next one-week period.
- The period of probation and ineligibility will always begin on Monday and end on Sunday.
- Any student who reaches his/her fifteenth birthday before September 1st will not be eligible for athletic participation in the eighth grade or below. Any student who reaches his/her fourteenth birthday before September 1st will not be eligible for athletic participation in the seventh grade or below. Any student who reaches his/her thirteenth birthday before September 1st will not be eligible for athletic participation in the sixth grade or below.
- Any student who reaches his/her nineteenth birthday before September 1 will not be eligible for athletic competition. Any student who reaches his/her sixteenth birthday before September 1 will not be eligible if enrolled in the ninth grade or below.
