Student eligibility: current external rules

Status: Non-normative source notes, checked September 19, 2026. Recheck the applicable year, division, sport, and host organization’s rules before use.

• UIL 2026–27 Constitution and Contest Rules, Subchapter M: § 400 requires a varsity contestant not to be a high-school graduate; § 405 defines graduation and distinguishes early credit accumulation from graduation; § 403 sets the athletic age rule; § 408 addresses the four-year high-school window; § 446 contains the detailed disability-related age exception. These rules govern UIL participation, not every independent home-school contest.
• UIL guidance on HB 3803 and Texas Education Code § 28.02124: explains parent-elected repeats through grade eight and states that this change does not alter high-school age or four-year eligibility rules. The protocol’s competition-grade declaration is a proposed voluntary mechanism, not a claim that the statute directly governs home-school records.
• UIL constitutional definitions and objectives and membership provisions: place definitions and member qualifications before student-eligibility provisions. The Standard’s defined use of school does not alter UIL’s current membership categories; a new UIL category would require UIL’s own action.
• UIL home-school participation guidance: explains non-enrolled participation, residence and opt-out rules, previous athletic participation review, and restrictions on participation after enrollment in public school during the same year. UIL participation at a public school and representation of a separate home-school program raise activity-specific conflicts requiring separate analysis.
• TAPPS Constitution and Bylaws, January 29, 2026 working copy: Article V addresses age, the four-year window, graduation, and early varsity participation; §§ 81 and 84 give more detail on graduation and the consecutive-year clock, including home-school programs. The opponent-scheduling provisions near PDF page 70 exclude home-school-team students not yet in high school, graduates, and those more than four years from starting ninth grade. These are TAPPS rules for its members, not automatically the universal protocol.
• TAPPS 2026–28 approved-opponents guidance: distinguishes recognized organizations and addresses contests with home-school groups. Recognition or permission to schedule should not be assumed merely because a program follows this proposed protocol.

The student-eligibility draft borrows some conservative boundaries for interoperability. Its proposed wording remains a separate policy choice unless adopted.