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OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The State Superintendent of Education, pursuant to section 3(b)(11) of the District of Columbia State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000, effective October 21, 2000, (D.C. Law 13-176; D.C. Official Code § 38-2602(b)(11)) (2011 Supp.) hereby gives notice of the adoption of an emergency and proposed rule amending chapter 27 (Interscholastic Athletics) of subtitle A (Office of the State Superintendent of Education) of title 5 (Education) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) by exempting fifth-year high school seniors enrolled in a District of Columbia public school as of July 1, 2011, who have not participated in four (4) regular seasons of interscholastic athletics. The amendment clarifies and extends the application of the effective date and governing procedures for eligibility in subsection 2701.4 (s). The emergency rule was adopted on August 25, 2011, and took effect at that time. The emergency rules will remain in effect until December 23, 2011, one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of adoption or until a final rule is adopted, whichever occurs first.
The purpose of the emergency proposed rulemaking is to clarify eligibility for certain high school seniors enrolled in a District of Columbia public school as July 1, 2011, who have not participated in four (4) regular seasons in the same individual or team interscholastic sport, and exempt them from the eligibility computations. Emergency rulemaking action is necessary to ensure uniform application of eligibility standards for this year’s senior class, to eliminate potential adverse impact with regard to college scholarship opportunities, and consequently for the immediate preservation and promotion of the public welfare of the District’s high school student-athletes. This amendment ensures equity and fairness to students affected, eliminating potential adverse consequences to students impacted by the new Interscholastic Athletic rules published as final on July 22, 2011, at 58 DCR 6015.
The State Superintendent of Education also gives notice of her intent to adopt this proposed rule as final, in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
Section 2701, ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION, of chapter 27, INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS, of subtitle A, OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION, of title 5, EDUCATION, of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Paragraph (s) of subsection 2701.4 is amended to read as follows:
(s) Semester and season eligibility computations shall begin from the semester in which the student was enrolled for the first time in any school in grades four (4), six (6), and nine (9), and shall be counted continuously thereafter, regardless of whether he or she remains continuously enrolled in school. For student athletes in grades nine (9) through twelve (12), eligibility shall cease at the end of the eighth (8th) semester after first entering the ninth (9th) grade. In school year 2011-2012, this paragraph shall not apply to seniors who are enrolled in a District of Columbia public school as of July 1, 2011, and who have not participated in four (4) regular seasons in the same individual or team interscholastic sport.
Persons wishing to comment on this rule should submit their comments in writing to China Terrell, Office of the State Superintendent of Education, 810 First Street, NE, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20002, Attention: Office of the State Superintendent, Re: Proposed Athletics Rule. All comments must be received no later than thirty (30) days after publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Copies of this rulemaking may also be obtained from the OSSE website at www.osse.dc.gov or upon request at the above referenced location.
