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Board shortens eligibility notice for secondary athletes to reduce same‑day ineligibility
Summary
Barnes County North approved revised secondary eligibility wording to give students earlier notice of ineligibility (warnings earlier in the week and a brief grace period), aiming to avoid telling students they can't play on the day of a contest.
The board approved a change to the secondary eligibility procedure at the Sept. 18 meeting to reduce instances where students are told they cannot play on game day.
The secondary principal proposed moving the preliminary eligibility check and warnings earlier in the week so students receive notice before contests. Under the adopted change, warnings would be issued earlier (the presenter suggested Wednesday warnings), with a finalization on Friday that takes effect the following Monday; the proposal also described a short grace period allowing students to regain eligibility mid‑week in some cases.
"The two weeks I've done it, I've had to tell kids the day of that they're not playing any game that night. I'd rather warn them on Wednesday, finalize it Friday to go into effect on Monday," the secondary principal said, describing how the current schedule can force last‑minute lineup changes and distress for students and families. Board members agreed the revised timeline would be clearer for parents, coaches and students and made a motion to approve revised handbook wording. The motion carried on a roll call vote.
Administrators said they will circulate the new wording and incorporate the revised timeline into coach and parent communications immediately. The board indicated the policy can be revisited if implementation challenges arise.
