In a 5-2 vote, South Bend school board members approved a proposal to lower GPA requirements for South Bend Community School Corporation middle school and high school student athletes during their meeting on Monday, Aug. 3.
About a dozen community members attended the meeting, as did South Bend Common Council members Dr. Fred Ferlic and Henry Davis Jr.
Freshmen students will need to maintain at least a 1.5 GPA, sophomores will need at least a 1.67 GPA, juniors will need at least a 1.85 GPA and seniors will need at least a 2.0 GPA in order to play in sports.
Students who fall below the minimum GPA standards will be required to attend study tables and show an improvement in order to play. That’s stricter than the current Indiana High School Athletic Association requirements, which deems students eligible to play sports if they are passing at least 70 percent of their classes.
Middle school students will only need to meet the IHSAA requirements.
Under the former GPA requirements at South Bend schools, all students in grades 6 through 12 were required to maintain a 2.0 GPA to be able to play sports, which equals at least a C in every class.
