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Baltimore City School Board approves 2.0 minimum GPA for athletes

Posted at 12:06 AM, Sep 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-28 06:41:01-04

The Baltimore City School Board voted to require a 2.0 minimum GPA for intra and interscholastic athletes.

The academic eligibility for athletics also requires that student athletes have no more than one failing grade in any class. The policy change also approves additional resources to help students achieve a 2.0.

The current policy states that

"students who have no more than one grade below passing in the previous marking period automatically will be eligible to participate or practice in any extracurricular activity governed during the next marking period."

The proposed revisions would increase academic expectations for student-athletes and prepare them for a higher academic standard, possibly at the collegiate level.

As City Schools seek to improve academic rigor throughout the district, preparing scholar athletes that qualify for NCAA Scholarships should be paramount. Under current eligibility standards, some students will be eligible to play and possess an innate athletic talent, but may not qualify for NCAA Scholarships based on their core GPA. The goal of this request is to move towards alignment of City Schools Interscholastic Athletics Eligibility Criteria with that of the NCAA Scholarship Criteria.

The policy will take effect for the 2017-2018 school year. Students will be required to maintain eligibility through the season to continue playing. The policy change also approves additional resources to help students achieve a 2.0.