Academic ineligibility of some student athletes at Twentynine Palms High School has become a sore point at that school in recent weeks. Two TPHS administrators spoke about the issue at recent meetings of the Morongo Unified School District. Dan Stork relates what they said…
Some students at Twentynine Palms High School, who went to summer school to compensate for courses they failed last year, were told after they passed the summer courses that they were nonetheless ineligible for interscholastic athletics. Justin Monical, who this term succeeded Amy Wood as principal of TPHS, said that the students had been incorrectly advised on their summer school options before they took the make-up courses. He told the Morongo Unified School District Board of Education on August 20, “Right now this is impacting four of our student athletes at our school, that were advised by adults, ‘you’re taking an elective for an elective, it should be fine.’ And it’s not.” Monical explained that MUSD has stricter eligibility rules than the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), with regard to what courses may be used for compensatory credit. The MUSD Board policy says this: “If a specific core course needed for a student to maintain eligibility and/or satisfactory progress toward graduating is not offered during summer school, a passing grade in another core academic class in the same discipline, taken in summer school, may negate a spring semester failing grade for eligibility purposes and for determining satisfactory progress toward graduation.” Monical also noted that MUSD does not have a probationary period during which students who are struggling academically can continue to participate on teams while being monitored in their course work. This is an option that the state education code suggests, but does not require. Monical asked the Board to review eligibility policy, saying “I hope we have it as an agenda item at our next Board meeting to at least begin the review process of that policy for the District, to determine whether or not we continue on the same path and the same vein as we have for a number of years, or we take a look at that policy and have it pull into alignment with the policy that CIF offers us.” Such a review was not on the September 3 meeting agenda. At the September 3 meeting, Twentynine Palms High School Athletic Director Jeremy Johnson urged the Board to implement a probationary program: “If I could simply offer a probationary period for you, and I’m going to call you in, and I’m going to check your grades, and I’m going to make sure you’re on track to graduate, and that your grades are where they need to be; if not, you’re not going to practice, you’re going to tutoring.” Board member Ron Palmer requested that a policy review be added to a future agenda. Click here to view Justin Monical’s full statement.
