AAA approves 9 new rules for student eligibility and conduct; 4 potential rules fail

The member schools of the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) gathered in Little Rock on Monday, July 27, 2026, for the governing body’s annual meeting to vote on 13 proposals affecting student athletics and activities.

The association announced Monday afternoon that nine of the proposals passed, introducing stricter penalties for fighting, clarifying student eligibility, and updating administrative handbooks. Read more below.

Which Rules Passed:

A major focus of the approved legislation centers on student conduct during athletic events.

Proposal 8, which passed by a vote of 236 to 39, doubles the ejection penalty for student-athletes caught fighting.

Proposal 9, which passed 254 to 7, ensures that seniors who are ejected for fighting in their final event of a sport will serve their penalty during the next sport they participate in during the same school year.

Student eligibility and participation rules also received significant updates.

Proposal 1 passed 83 to 13, allowing seventh and eighth-grade students to participate in extracurricular programs at another school within their district if their own school does not offer the activity.

Additionally, Proposal 2 overwhelmingly passed 268 to 4, clarifying the years of eligibility for secondary students to a defined timeframe: one year upon initial enrollment in seventh grade, one year in eighth grade, and four years upon initial enrollment in ninth grade.

Other approved measures include expanded limits for junior high varsity volleyball events (Proposal 4) and

scheduling flexibility for the volleyball season, which allows for a benefit event supporting the AAA Catastrophe Insurance Fund (Proposal 5).

The association also near-unanimously approved Proposal 3, which clarifies guidelines for the Christmas Dead Period, and

Proposals 6 and 7, which authorize a complete rewrite and modernization of the AAA Handbook’s bylaws and constitution to align with current laws and improve clarity.

Which Rules Failed:

Four proposals failed to secure the necessary votes from the governing body.

These included two competitive equity measures for football programs (Proposals 10 and 13),

a proposal regarding Act 91 participation for isolated school districts (Proposal 11), and

a measure concerning the certification procedure for 6A sports conferences (Proposal 12).

Text of Each Rule:

PASSED PROPOSAL #1 INTRADISTRICT PARTICIPATION PURPOSE:

Any 7th or 8th grade student at the discretion of the administration, shall be eligible to attend any class, academic program, or participate in any extracurricular activity or program offered by another school in the district or system (at the same level of competition), if the school in which the student attends does not offer the same or similar class, academic program, or extracurricular activity or program.

PASSED PROPOSAL #2 YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY PURPOSE:

This change eliminates the interpretation of participation, opportunity for participation, whether the semester counts toward junior high or senior high, whether the student was eligible or not, etc. It’s simply a defined time period during which a student may be eligible. 1 year upon initial enrollment in 7th grade, 1 year upon initial enrollment in 8th grade, and 4 years upon initial enrollment in 9th grade.

PASSED PROPOSAL #3 DEAD WEEKS PURPOSE:

Schools that have the only baseball, softball fields, and track in the community may allow the community to use the school fields and track during the dead period, as long as no school teams are playing and no school coaches are coaching the teams. Christmas Dead Period – During this time, licensed teacher coaches and registered volunteers shall be prohibited from engaging in any type of activity involving student-athletes, whether it is practice, training, weightlifting, competition, or travel. Further, school athletic facilities will be closed to everyone during this period.

PASSED PROPOSAL #4 VOLLEYBALL JV EVENT LIMITATIONS PURPOSE:

Junior high varsity teams shall be limited to 20 matches (increase from 18) and two invitational tournaments or 18 matches and three invitational tournaments. Middle schools are limited to 18 matches.

PASSED PROPOSAL #5 VOLLEYBALL SEASON LIMITATIONS PURPOSE:

One benefit event for the AAA Catastrophe Insurance Fund may be played between varsity teams only during weeks #6 through #16. To extend the season to reflect recent changes in volleyball (more regionals), allow more scheduling flexibility, and support injury prevention.

PASSED PROPOSAL #6 AAA HANDBOOK REWRITE – BYLAWS PURPOSE:

The purpose of modernizing the handbook is to:

align with current laws/rules; clean up outdated language; protect against litigation; capture original intent; simplify; clarify; provide consistency; reflect actual practice; make the handbook more user-friendly; and allow for more precise referencing and structure.

PASSED PROPOSAL #7 AAA HANDBOOK REWRITE – CONSTITUTION PURPOSE:

The purpose of modernizing the handbook is to:

PASSED PROPOSAL #8 EJECTION POLICY – FIGHTING PENALTY PURPOSE:

If ejected for fighting, the penalty would double from the previous penalty. If ejected for fighting for the first time – the next two comparable events or 8 consecutive football quarters. If ejected for fighting for the second time – the next four comparable events or 16 consecutive football quarters.

PASSED PROPOSAL #9 EJECTION POLICY – SENIORS PURPOSE:

Seniors who are ejected for fighting in their last event of a sport will serve their ejection penalty in the next sport participated in during the school year.

FAILED PROPOSAL #10 COMPETITIVE EQUITY FOOTBALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS PURPOSE:

In the sport of football, schools with a winning percentage of 20% or less in three of the last four years in conference play will be given the OPTION to play down one classification. To remain in this lower classification, schools must have had a winning percentage lower than 30% in either year of the two-year block and cannot have won a state playoff game.

FAILED PROPOSAL #11 ACT 91 PARTICIPATION PURPOSE:

This allowance for participation under Act 91 shall continue pursuant to Act 919 of the 2025 Regular Session – Formation of an Isolated District – thereby permitting students of a newly separated school district to continue participation with the previously administratively consolidated school district, so long as all other eligibility requirements are met.

FAILED PROPOSAL #12 6A OTHER SPORTS CONFERENCES PURPOSE:

Would impact the 6A conference certification procedure in the team sports of baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. Conference Certification 6A – In classifications or sports where conferences have an uneven number of member schools, the number of qualifying teams advancing to state tournaments shall be determined by maintaining an equitable percentage of total conference participants advancing to postseason play.

FAILED PROPOSAL #13 COMPETITIVE EQUITY – FOOTBALL POINT TOTALS PURPOSE:

Each non-public FB program that was adjusted by more than one classification due to application of the competitive equity adjustment would move down one classification for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 classification years unless the non-public FB program earned an appearance in the 2026 state playoff semifinals. All other non-public FB programs will remain where they are assigned in the 2026 classification year for 2027 and then be reclassified per enrollment and competitive equity for the 2028 and 2029 classification years. See proposal for complete details. Proposed Point System Win or Bye State Playoff Game – 1 point State Playoff Semi-Final Appearance – 2 points State Finalist – 3 points State Champion – 4 points

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