Lawmakers consider athletic eligibility for high schoolers

Some legislators are trying to maintain the status quo when it comes to athletic eligibility in Iowa high schools. A Senate subcommittee has endorsed the bill which is at odds with a proposal pending before the Iowa Board of Education, a proposal that would require all high school athletes to have passing grades in all their classes. Governor Tom Vilsack will knock down any attempt by legislators to override that rule. “A substantial percentage of Iowans believe, as I believe, that failure should not be the standard in Iowa.” Vilsack says kids who are failing in class shouldn’t have the “privilege” of representing their community and their school in athletic competition. “If a youngster is not doing a good enough job in school and we want that youngster to carry the pigskin or shoot the basketball or whatever, then we ought to get that youngster the help they need to succeed,” Vilsack says. In March, the Board of Education is expected to formally implement the new rule. The current policy lets students participate in athletics if they pass at least four classes.