Each year the TSSAA Legislative Council considers proposals and rule changes to the TSSAA Constitution & Bylaws, most of which are submitted by the member schools of the association and discussed at the schools' Regional Meetings.

The following is a summary of the Bylaw changes and where they can be found in the TSSAA or TMSAA handbook. An updated version of the TSSAA and TMSAA handbooks is now available online. Bound copies are also mailed to each school upon payment of membership dues. The changes are as follows:

Article IV, Section 2 (Contests with Out-of-State Teams) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

This rule will be removed. It will be left up to the individual school and/or school district administration to decide how many out-of-state trips over 600 miles round-trip a sports program takes during the season.

Article III, Section 2 (Board of Control) and Article IV, Section 2 (Legislative Council) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Constitution

This addition will allow school and district level athletic directors who have achieved a minimum CAA through the NIAAA to be eligible to run for a Board or Legislative Council seat in their Athletic District. Only district-level athletic directors that meet the requirement who have no more than one four-year high school or senior high school shall be eligible to serve.

Article IV, Section 8 (TSSAA Sports Calendar) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

This addition states that girls’ and boys’ Lacrosse will become sanctioned TSSAA sports at the start of the next classification cycle. This will be effective at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.

Article II, Section 7 (Repeating Rule) of the TSSAA Bylaws

This change states that a student who repeats the sixth, seventh, or eighth grade and participates in school athletics while repeating shall be ineligible in all sports at all levels in the ninth grade.

Article II, Section 14 (Practice Rules) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

The bylaw making a student who engages in three or more days of off-season practice in football and basketball ineligible in that sport if he/she transfers without a bona fide change of residence will be removed.

Article IV, Section 8 (Sports Calendar) of the TSSAA Bylaws

Specific guidelines have been added to the football Spring Practice regulations in order to help minimize risk. Football coaches may also use two (2) of their ten (10) days allowed for team- against-team competition during the summer in June. All ten days have always been allowed in July after the Dead Period. If a coach decides to use two (2) days in June for 7-on-7 competition, they can only attend a camp held in Tennessee.

Article II, Section 21 (Independent-Game Participation) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

The rule has been changed to state that a violation would render a student- athlete ineligible for the remainder of the season in that sport. However, the school will not be required to forfeit games once a violation is confirmed. The rule will now not apply to wrestling, cross country, and track and field in addition to bowling, golf, and tennis which were already exempt.

Article IV, Section 8 (TMSAA Basketball Sports Calendar) of the TMSAA Bylaws

The maximum number of regular season contests will now be 20 games.

TMSAA Bylaw Changes

The following TMSAA Bylaws were changed to coincide with the TSSAA Bylaws. The disciplinary action taken as a result of a violation will now be the same. In a couple of incidents, the fine may be slightly less at the middle school level.

a) Rules Meetings for Coaches
b) Substitutes Leaving Bench Area or Fans Coming onto the Field or Floor During an Incident
c) Coaches Ejected for Unsportsmanlike Conduct
d) Playing of Ineligible Student-Athletes