The PSAL announced on Thursday that it will adopt harder academic rules in September, outlining a number of changes that will go into effect at the start of the next school year, including an increase in the amount of credits that must be accumulated for two semesters prior to an eligibility period from eight to 10 and an attendance policy that requires students to be in class 90% of the time in order to play. The league currently requires 80% attendance for eligibility.
But the PSAL’s new grade point average standard, which states that student-athletes must have a “passing” GPA at the time of eligibility evaluation, may already be causing confusion throughout the league. A number of coaches and athletic directors contacted by the Daily News on Thursday said they didn’t even know public schools in the city used GPAs as part of the eligibility process.
Also, the “passing” GPA standard still may not meet the NCAA’s minimum 2.3 GPA rule for incoming student athletes.
Still, PSAL coaches and administrators applauded the league for raising the academic bar for its student-athletes.
“You don’t want kids to do well on the basketball court but not well in the classroom,” said Boys & Girls HS principal Bernard Gassaway, who said his school was recently taken off a list of those set to be closed for poor academic performance. “So I’m happy to hear that of the proposed changes.”
“I’m a big supporter because I believe we should hold student-athletes to a higher expectation,” Lincoln HS athletic director Renan Ebeid said. “I think it’s a good idea and I guess we’ll see what happens. Student-athletes are the role models for our kids. So it’s very good. I just think the first year, the transition year, might be a little bit challenging.”
Under the new PSAL guidelines, student-athletes must be on schedule to graduate in four years and must pass five credit bearing subjects — an increase from the current requirement of four — plus physical education. The 10-credit rule will go into effect one year from Friday.
Education Department Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott said the changes are part of an effort to make sure all students are better prepared for college.
“We want to continue our progress and are making changes to the requirements for PSAL to reflect the higher standards so that all our students are college- and career-ready when they graduate from high school,” Walcott said in a statement.
