Douglas County High School’s Athletic Eligibility
“If 90% of success in life is showing up,
the other 10% depends on what you’re showing up for.”
~Woody Allen
All athletes representing Douglas County High School must satisfy all eligibility requirements set forth by the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) and Douglas County High School. CHSAA requires that athletes/managers (except for incoming 9th graders) meet the following requirements for eligibility in any sanctioned activity:
- Must not be 19 years of age prior to August 1st of his/her senior year. (CHSAA 1770.1)
- Must not have had more than eight (8) consecutive semesters of high school participation. (CHSAA 1770.2)
There are two processes all athletes will be screened for in order to be academically eligible.
- CHSAA Check and
- Bi-Monthly Eligibility Checks during the season/school year
#1 – CHSAA Check – Douglas County is considered a “Plan A” school by the CHSAA meaning students other than first semester freshmen must have taken at least 5 full credits and failed no more than one in the previous semester.
For those students that have failed more than one class in the previous semester, they will be able to become eligible based on the regain dates set for that sport. (CHSAA 1710(d))
- Must be enrolled in five full credit classes during the current semester or participation.
- Must be enrolled at Douglas County High School as a bona fide student or in a school that does not have the specific sport of participation. (CHSAA 1710)
Students that do not pass five full credit classes in the spring semester may make up credits in two ways:
- summer school OR
- by correspondence.
Only those classes failed may be made up through those two opportunities. Notification of the earned credits must be received by Douglas County on or before the Thursday prior to Labor Day. Douglas County currently uses Infinite Campus to report eligibility at the end of each semester as well as during the seasonal two-week grade check. At the end of the semester, an athlete may have NO more than one failing grade on his/her previous transcript (an incomplete is equivalent to an “F” until it is corrected).
The only difference is for the Fall semester. 2nd semester of the previous school year is used for eligibility – if the athlete did not pass at least 5 classes the 2nd semester (except for incoming freshmen) they are not eligible until the CHSAA specified date (CHSAA 1710 (d.2))
For Winter sports, we check their past Spring transcripts for the initial CHSAA check at the start of the winter season. If an athlete had two “F”s at that time, they are out until we are able to check the first semester grades. If at the end of the first semester (in January) we will re-run the transcripts and student/athletes can have ONE failing grade. If they have more than one, they are out for the remainder of the winter season since there is no regain date for winter sports.
For Spring semester, if they are ineligible for the first posting (which usually runs on or about the regain eligibility date for spring) and they were ineligible at the end of first semester they are ineligible that semester.
#2 – Bi-Monthly Grade Checks – Starting in the 2025-26 school year, Douglas County High School will implement a “No Pass/No Play” academic policy in which no current season athlete will be able to participate with a failing grade. Douglas County High School believes that all students who choose to participate in athletics are considered “students first and athletes second.” Therefore, the DCHS athletic department seeks to assist athletes in their academic studies while still participating. Preliminary grades are checked on Thursdays (“heads up” check) every other week using Infinite Campus. Eligibility is based on the student’s CURRENT grade through the previous two weeks. Final grades are checked on the following Monday (“final check”) at Noon. If the student/athlete had a failing grade on Thursday and it was still there on the following Monday in the SAME class, they will be ineligible. If a student does NOT have any failing grades on the Thursday (“heads up” check) date, they cannot be deemed ineligible on the Monday (“Final Check”).
If there are concerns with grades, coaches and administration are NOT allowed to be involved in the communication process with the teacher and student. Individual programs may impose stricter academic standards and expectations for their student-athletes, including implementing additional consequences for poor academic or classroom behavior. Please ensure your student-athlete is familiar with the eligibility policies of CHSAA, Douglas County, and their team expectations. If you have additional questions, please contact the Douglas County High School Athletics Department.
*All of this information is covered in the annual seasonal Parent/Athlete meetings held at the start of every season.
Douglas County High School Attendance Policy
“If 90% of success in life is showing up,
the other 10% depends on what you’re showing up for.”
~Woody Allen
Starting in the 2025-26 school year, Douglas County High School requires any in-season student/athlete to be present:
- 3 of 4 classes (on purple and white days)
- 4 of 7 on Lavender Days
in order to participate in PRACTICE and/or contests. The attendance staff will run daily or sporadic checks at the end of the day verifying student/athletes attendance. Friday attendance does NOT have bearing on weekend events.
If a student is late to class it is their responsibility to check in on the computer to ensure they receive credit for being present.
If a student has an “off period” that is their ONE missed period for that day. They can come to sit in the athletics office OR with the attendance secretaries in order to make up the time if they have an appointment that would cause them to miss more than one period.
There are rare situations where a student/athlete has two “off periods” on the same day. We recognize that they cannot come in and meet the 3 of 4 requirements so they must be in school the other two periods on that day.
If there is an extenuating circumstance, please contact the athletics director so she can inform you of what might be excused based on the situation.
