Their placement in the ninth grade at mainstream MIAA schools rather than the 10th grade was “academically and developmentally appropriate,” she said. Renee Greenfield, the head of the Carroll School, said both boys needed intensive remedial work in the center’s ninth-grade program.

The crackdown, a priority of MIAA executive director Bob Baldwin since he took office in 2021, has been applauded by school administrators, many of whom had long advocated for leveling playing fields by restricting private schools in particular from bolstering their rosters with older players.ĭr. “As a result, the rule has been consistently applied to all students who have demonstrated proof of passing grades and earned enough credits to advance to the next academic grade level.” “The MIAA membership approved this rule change by an overwhelming vote of 311-24-11,” the association said in a statement. The regulation prohibits waivers for students who voluntarily repeat a grade. Because they attended the Carroll School through the ninth grade, then entered mainstream high schools as ninth graders, the MIAA summarily rejected their eligibility applications under its new waiver rule. Gill and Gilroy, both 18, have dyslexia, which causes difficulty reading, writing, and spelling. “This is a system without due process,” said Gilroy’s mother, Marcella Sliney. In rejecting waiver applications for Gill and Gilroy, the MIAA stated the rulings were “not appealable.” The dispute raises questions about whether the MIAA, a powerful governing body trying to correct course after decades of controversy over its eligibility decisions, has gone too far by banning waivers even in special cases - and whether the organization has violated the spirit of its own stated commitment to non-discrimination. Many more at other schools have also been affected.īishop Fenwick has protested to no avail, but the case of the two students with diagnosed learning disorders may prove harder to defend.

Hundreds of students at Bishop Fenwick High were barred from postseason play because of what the MIAA deemed repeated and egregious violations of the rule. The MIAA said it has applied its strict new waiver rule fairly, with the goal of eliminating abuses by schools seeking to extend students’ athletic eligibility to a fifth year. Colmn Gilroy (left) and Jack Gill both attended the Carroll School, which specializes in helping students with learning disabilities.

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