Pittsburgh Public Schools explore changes to athletic eligibility guidelines

School board members on Monday discussed plans to update the eligibility guidelines for Pittsburgh Public Schools athletes.

In compliance with the new policy, students with a grade point average below a 2.0 would participate in an academic intervention program in order to participate in interscholastic athletics.

The new academic requirements would be phased in over the next three years.

Beginning next year, students would be permitted to play sports but need to participate in intervention if their GPA falls between 1.0 and 1.99. By the 2022-23 school year, the GPA expectation would increase to 1.5. Final end-of-year grades would be used to determine eligibility for programs beginning at or before the start of the next school year.

The policy will be voted on at the legislative meeting in June. If passed, it becomes effective retroactive of June 1, said Terry Kennedy, co-chair of the board’s policy committee.

The guidelines will not just apply to athletes, board members said, but also to participants in some extracurricular activities.

“It will have to be a partnership and the administrative regulations will have to be districtwide,” said David May-Stein, chief of school performance. “We want to make sure that it is uniform, that kids participate in it and have the opportunity to grow academically as well as in athletics.”

May-Stein said the intervention is not seen as a punitive measure, but as a way to monitor progress. Students will be able to continue playing their sports while they improve their grades. Coaches and assistant coaches will be involved in the intervention process.

Overall, the board was overwhelmingly supportive of the policy change. William Gallagher, of District 6, said the fact that the new regulations will be implemented over three years will allow this year’s freshmen to adjust accordingly and develop their own interest in achieving academic success.

“It has to become intrinsic,” Gallagher said. “They’re going to have to come to understand that you have to want to do this school work. You want to do well because you have opportunities.”

Gallagher and Devon Taliaferro, of District 2, encouraged the district to consider supporting athletes with intervention throughout the school year, even after their athletic season has ended.

The policy change relaxes the district’s current athletic eligibility standards, said Board President Sylvia Wilson. The minimum grade point average was set at 2.0 because too many athletes were “not succeeding.” The district wanted to set higher standards — but there was no intervention program to help them, Wilson said.

“As we’re relaxing the grade point average, I definitely encourage and expect and hope that these intervention programs actually do exist and will be put in place,” she said. “Because we don’t need any more athletes graduating with less than par scores, going on and then can’t succeed if they go to college.”

The details for how the intervention program will work are still being discussed, but will likely involve between an hour and an hour and a half of tutoring every school day. District leaders want the time commitment to be “universal” across Pittsburgh Public Schools, but also recognize that different sports necessitate greater time commitments, which are being considered.