To participate in band funtions, you must pass your classes.

Students and parents often have many questions concerning UIL and TEA's State laws concerning no-pass-no-play. While the UIL has their guidelines on how eligibility works, oftentimes various school districts take these guidelines and expand on them further. Humble ISD has very specific guidelines on how eligibility works in our district. For the Atascocita High School Band, eligibility plays a very important factor in student participation - not only should you be a great musician, you also must be a great student in your core classes.

Student eligibility hugely impacts our team, so it’s important that every student and parent fully understand the importance of passing your classes and maintaining your academic eligibility. 

Here is everything that you need to know about eligibility:
TO KEEP YOUR ELIGIBILITY
You must pass all of your classes with at least a 70 or above for the eligibility check.

​If you are passing all of your classes with a 70 or above on the eligibility check, you are good to go. A report card is an eligibility check, and the 6th week of the first semester is also an eligibility check.
  • This applies to football games, TMEA region auditions, and all other sports and extracurricular activities.
  • Ineligible students still perform at winter and spring concerts since these are TEKS-based performances for our classroom.
  • One exception to the UIL eligibility rule is UIL Concert and Sightreading Evaluation in April. This is not a ranked contest against other schools - this is a TEKS evaluation of critical performance for our students. Therefore, the UIL and TEA have set forth that Concert and Sightreading evaluation does not apply for eligibility.
    • This amendment was made effective May 1, 2019 in which TEA has amended 19 TAC Chapter 76, Extracurricular Activities, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules, §76.1001, Extracurricular Activities Summary: ​This amendment allows a student who has not passed all his or her classes but who is enrolled in a state-approved music course that participates in University Interscholastic League (UIL) Concert and Sight-reading Evaluation to perform with the ensemble during the UIL evaluation performance. ​
  • ​Another exception to this rule is our Winter Concert and Spring Concert, as these are curriculum-based performances of the student's TEKS learned in class, are worth major grades, and are not ranked contests with other competitive band programs.

THE GRADING PERIOD
Humble ISD operates on a 9 week grading period. For the third and sixth 6-weeks grading periods, students will receive a progress report identifying how they are doing in their classes at that point in time. On the 9th week, students will receive an official report card which will indicate what their grade ended up with on that 9 week grading period. The report card factors into what GPA students earn.
  • In general:
    • A report card is a gain and/or LOSE eligibility check. A student could potentially lose their eligibility at a report card. 
    • A progress report is a gain-only eligibility check. Students who have lost eligibility can regain at a progress report. A student who has their eligibility already can’t lose at a progress report if they are failing (there is a big exception to this that applies to the first six weeks of school - that will be outlined in the next bullet points)

EXCEPTION - FIRST 6 WEEKS OF SCHOOL
The first six weeks of school is an exception to the 9-week grading period. Normally, a progress report would not factor into eligibility. However, the UIL has made strict guidelines that have placed ALL SCHOOLS IN TEXAS regardless of their grading period schedule to count for eligibility on the 6th week.
  • That means, OUR SECOND PROGRESS REPORT AND THE FIRST REPORT CARD BOTH FACTOR INTO ELIGIBILITY. Students can lose their eligibility at the 6th week and at the 9th week.
  • If a student fails a class with a 69 and below on a report card or the second progress report of the school year, then that student has lost eligibility to participate in band activities until they have passed their classes on the next grading period and regained their eligibility. 

WAIVER ONE ADVANCED CLASS
If a student is taking advanced classes, they are able to waiver ONE failed course per semester. If a student fails more than one advanced course, then the rules above apply and they have lost their eligibility. Such classes that are applicable for an academic waiver to keep participating include:
  • Advanced classes
  • Pre-AP
  • AP
  • dual credit
  • on ramps
  • Honors
  • GT
  • IB

TO REGAIN ELIGIBILITY
If you are a student who lost eligibility, in order to regain your eligibility to return back to the band activity, you must pass ALL CLASSES on the next reporting period (or progress report) to regain eligibility.

Here are some commonly asked questions of parents regarding UIL No-Pass-No-Play Eligibility Rules:

DOES MY CHILD STILL NEED TO ATTEND AFTER SCHOOL REHEARSALS IF THEY HAVE LOST ELIGIBILITY?
No. That student needs to stay home and continue working on the classes that they failed in hopes of trying to regain their eligibility. Since they are unable to perform with us, their time would be better utilized going to tutorials, working on homework and studying, and making test corrections that made them ineligible in the first place.

This does NOT apply to UIL concert and sightreading sectionals and rehearsals in the Spring.
​NOW THAT MY CHILD IS INELIGIBLE, WILL BEING INELIGIBLE CAUSE THEM TO RECEIVE A ZERO ON PERFORMANCES THEY ARE UNABLE TO ATTNED?
No. Football game performances, UIL solo and ensemble, TMEA region auditions, and other contests will be entered as excused. They must still participate in the winter and spring performances as well as UIL Concert and Sightreading Evaluation since those do not apply to eligibility
I FAILED ONE ADVANCED CLASS AND GOT A WAIVER. I PASSED THAT CLASS ON THE NEXT GRADING PERIOD, BUT I FAILED A DIFFERENT CLASS. WILL I STILL MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY?
No. If you waivered for one failing advanced course, you must then pass ALL CLASSES on your next reporting period. One waiver - per advanced class - per grading period - per semester.
I FAILED AN ADVANCED CLASS. HOW DO I APPLY FOR A WAIVER?
Your band directors will provide forms necessary to be signed by the appropriate people for waiver approval once that time comes. Usually, a band director will just take care of the waiver form for the ineligible student so they don't have to. You will want to make sure you contact a band director to make sure that the waiver has been filed.
My child is ineligible - can they still go to football games?
Sure! Those students can definitely attend a football game AS A PATRON on their own. They will have to go in as a ticket holder, but they will not be allowed to travel the band as an active member of the band and sit in the band section until they have regained their eligibility.
MY CHILD IS FAILING (insert class here) and i need them to skip practice to catch up with their homework. Is this acceptable?
The short answer is no - we will mark this as an unexcused absence. See the handbook on our policies on what constitutes and excused or an unexcused absence. All members of the band must be present for all rehearsals unless directed otherwise. If a child is struggling with a class and needs help, the best thing to do is work that out with the failing class's teacher and get tutorials and make-up work set up without missing band practice.
DOES ELIGIBILITY AFFECT JUST FOOTBALL GAMES?
No. If a child fails, not only will they not be allowed to attend football games as a band student, they will not be eligible to participate in UIL solo and ensemble, TMEA region auditions, or any competitive-ranked band function. They will also be ineligible to participate in any other sports related activities they are in as well.
Are there ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THE UIL NO-PASS-NO-PLAY RULE?
The ONLY exceptions to this rule is UIL Concert and Sightreading Evaluation in the Spring, and also curriculum-based performances such as the Winter Concert and the Spring Concert.
DOES MY CHILD STILL GET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WINTER CONCERT AND THE SPRING CONCERT IF THEY LOST THEIR ELIGIBILITY?
Yes. The Winter Concert and the Spring Concert are curriculum-based performances that showcase our TEKS that we are evaluated on yearly as program directors. This is not a ranked competition, so the students are expected to attend these major performances for major grades.