NC Education Code · Regulation
Title 16 — root / Chapter 06 — 16 NCAC 06E .0207
Plain English summary
This rule establishes comprehensive eligibility requirements for student participation in interscholastic athletics at North Carolina public schools, covering residency, enrollment, transfer, scholastic standing, age, biological, and medical criteria. Public School Units (PSUs) are authorized to administer these requirements within their jurisdictions, with rule administrators empowered to waive requirements in cases of hardship, disability accommodation, or where enforcement fails to promote academic progress, health, safety, and fair play. Students are barred from participation following a felony conviction, and specific timelines and evidence standards govern transfer eligibility disputes.
Key requirements
- A student shall not participate in interscholastic athletics on behalf of a North Carolina public school unless the student has satisfied the eligibility requirements set forth in this Rule.
- Each PSU shall require the principal of a participating school to sign and date a list of eligible students for each sport.
- The PSU shall maintain a copy of the most current list in the principal's office and the office of the local superintendent.
- A student shall not participate in interscholastic athletics following a change in primary residence unless the change was made for a bona fide purpose and with the intent that it be permanent.
- A student who transfers from one participating school to another participating school within the same PSU shall not participate in interscholastic athletics for 365 calendar days following the student's enrollment in the new school.
- A student who transfers from a participating school in one PSU to a participating school in a different PSU shall not participate in interscholastic athletics for 365 calendar days following the student's enrollment in the new school, unless the governing bodies of both PSUs agree that the transfer was for a bona fide purpose.
- After a student's initial entry into Grade 9, if a student transfers to a new school within 365 calendar days after that school hires a coach for an interscholastic athletics team who was previously employed as a coach for an equivalent sport by the school from which the student is transferring, the student shall be ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletics for that sport for 365 calendar days following the student's enrollment in the new school.
- To be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics, a student must be in good academic standing.
- The student attended at least 85 percent of the total number of instructional days in the PSU during the previous semester.
- The student passed at least 70 percent of the courses taken in the preceding semester.
- The student is making sufficient progress toward meeting the academic and curricular requirements of the PSU and the State Board of Education to be promoted to the next grade level or to graduate within the next calendar year.
- A student shall be eligible to participate at the middle school level for no more than six consecutive semesters, beginning with the student's initial entry into Grade 6.
- A student shall be eligible to participate at the high school level for no more than eight consecutive semesters, beginning with the student's initial entry into Grade 9.
- A student shall not participate on a middle school team if the student becomes 15 years of age before August 31 of that school year.
- A student shall not participate on a high school team if the student becomes 19 years of age on or before August 31 of that school year.
- A student in Grade 6 shall not participate in tackle football.
- All students participating in interscholastic athletics shall comply with the biological participation requirements as provided in G.S. 115C-407.59.
- To be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics, a student shall receive a medical examination every 395 days by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.
- A student shall not participate in interscholastic athletics after pleading guilty or 'no contest' to, or being convicted of, a felony under the laws of North Carolina, the United States, or any other state.
- No student shall participate in more than one season of interscholastic athletics per year in the same sport, regardless of the school on behalf of which the student participated.
- A student enrolled in a school supervised by a local board of education shall only participate in interscholastic athletics on behalf of the school to which the student is assigned under G.S. 115C-366.
Affected parties
- K-12 public school students
- charter school students
- regional school students
- home school students in grades 6-12
- public school unit (PSU) administrators
- school principals
- local superintendents
- local boards of education
- administering organizations
- rule administrators
- North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics students
- foreign exchange students