If your athlete attended a traditional public or private school between K-8 then they should be classified with respect to the grade at which the athlete attended the school. To classify an athlete using the “traditional school method” the school must have been an accredited entity with the state of Texas (so Co-ops and micro schools do not count).
If an athlete is currently homeschooled then you need to follow these guidelines for the 2023-2024 season.
If your athletes did not obtain an age exemption before they became a varsity athlete they CAN NOT apply for an exemption after the fact. For example, if an athlete turned 14 years old before the season and did not apply for an exemption, the athlete would be classified as a Sophomore when entering play the following year.
Approved Age Exceptions. It is understood that sometimes for academic reasons, a student will be “held back” a year or their initial start in primary education was delayed due to parents’ choice and a child may not meet the age requirements for eligibility listed above. The following are approved Exceptions to the age limitations listed above:
A student “held back” a year by an academic institution will participate at the grade level according to the grade assigned by said institution i.e. a charter or private school member organization.
A homeschool student that at one time attended an academic institution i.e. private, charter, or public school, and it was deemed by that institution for the child to be classified at a grade level lower than the typical ages of grades or in essence “held back”, then at some point the family elected to homeschool and progressed the student forward at any point (kindergarten thru the current grade) from the classification established by the academic institution. Documentation will be required to establish this exception.
Players previously provided an exception to the eligibility age restrictions that were “grandfathered” by existing TAIAO rules prior to the 2019 annual meeting. These players should not have dates of birth at or later than September 1st, 2004. The last age group of this designation were Sophomores during the 2021 Fall school year, and this exception will be obsolete by the beginning of the Fall 2024 sports seasons.
Exceptions to the standard age academic requirements i.e. ages 11-12 (7th grade), 12-13 (8th grade), 13-14 (9th grade), etc. will only be approved for 1 year of eligibility. A student can only be “held back” for 1 year. Never will a 2 or more year exception be approved by the league under any circumstances.
NEW 14 YEAR OLD RULE (All Sports)
Please make sure you are in compliance with the new rule governing the play of 14 year old athletes in junior high. An athletes DOB needs to be after 5/31/2008 for him/her to be eligible to play on JH. It will be difficult to get an exception to this rule from the Steering Committee unless the athlete is needed to field a JH team.
** IMPORTANT ** You must submit your DOB for all players in both Varsity and JH. If 14 year old players participated in the past on JH teams without the program having filed a “Play Down” request that was approved by the Steering Committee, then these athletes will lose a year of varsity eligibility. The only exceptions are for athletes who are entering their Junior or Senior seasons as they will be grandfathered under the old rule.
No varsity athlete is allowed to play more than four years of High School athletics. No junior high athlete is allowed to play more than three years of JH athletics unless they have obtained a play down exception.
For more information on the new rule please review the revised General Rules