Subchapter I

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Subchapter I. CONFERENCES AND DISTRICTS

Section 350: ESTABLISHING CONFERENCES

Before May 1 of each even numbered year, the UIL shall establish conferences for League contests and assign each member school wishing to compete in UIL activities to an appropriate district in accordance with reclassification and realignment policies as approved by the Legislative Council. These conferences and districts shall be maintained for the next two school years. The Executive Director shall promptly notify each member school of its conference and the district to which it has been assigned and of the identity of the other schools in the district and notify each member school district of the assignments of its member schools.

When rule changes that impact reclassification and realignment are passed by the Council in October of odd numbered years, and not approved by the Commissioner of Education at TEA (as required by section 33.083 (b) of the Texas Education Code) by November 15, the UIL Executive Director has the authority to conduct the alignment process under the most current version of the reclassification and realignment policies as approved by the Legislative Council and the Commissioner.

Section 351: CONFERENCE BASED ON ENROLLMENT

(a) ENROLLMENT. Schools that allow homeschool participation must notify their DEC and UIL each year by a date set on the UIL calendar. Notification is due by August 1st, in order for those students to be eligible for varsity athletic participation. For schools that decide to allow such participation after the August 1 date, those students would be eligible for academics, music and subvarsity athletic activities only for that school year.  Member schools shall be assigned to a conference on the basis of enrollment on a date from the previous October. Schools will include all resident students including those in alternative settings. The formulas used to determine enrollment shall be:

(1) Schools with four high school grades (9-12) and three-year high schools (grades 10-12) which will receive incoming tenth graders from specific, identifiable feeder schools:
Grades 9, 10, 11, 12 = Enrollment

(2) Schools with only grades 10, 11, 12 when it cannot easily be determined which schools the ninth graders will attend as tenth graders:
Grades 10, 11, 12 x 1.33 = Enrollment

(3) Schools choosing to participate in 1A football may submit enrollment figures by any one of the following combinations of grades: grades 9, 10, 11 and 12; grades 8, 9, 10 and 11; grades 7, 8, 9 and 10; or grades 9 and 10 doubled.

If no prior enrollment figures are available for the specified date, assignment of a participant school just admitted to competition shall be on the basis of the projected enrollment. A non disciplinary ‘alternative’ school such as a magnet or ISD charter school within the same independent school district shall be assigned to a conference as outlined in the latest approved version of the UIL Conference and District Assignment Policies and Procedures. Schools that have established attendance zones do not fit the definition of a non disciplinary ‘alternative’ school even if they operate a non disciplinary ‘alternative’ school program with optional attendance zones.

(b) CONFERENCES. Member high schools shall be divided into conferences for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years according to the following enrollments:

Conference 6A..... 2225 and above
Conference 5A..... 1300-2224
Conference 4A..... 545-1299
Conference 3A..... 250-544
Conference 2A..... 105-249
Conference 1A..... 104.9 and below

For the 2022-23 school year, there are approximately the following number of basketball schools in each conference:

Conference 6A..... 249
Conference 5A..... 252
Conference 4A..... 212
Conference 3A..... 231
Conference 2A..... 216
Conference 1A..... 220

Section 352: NON-HONORS FOOTBALL

A school which has been elevated one conference to avoid extreme travel situations may be assigned on a non-honors basis to a football district.

Section 353: FOOTBALL COMPETITION BY A NEW SCHOOL

A member school just admitted to competition in the UIL shall be assigned to a conference for football competition only at the beginning of an even-numbered year. (Refer to Official Interpretation 01-09-18, Appendix I).

Section 354: FIRST APPEAL: DISTRICT REASSIGNMENT BY AGREEMENT

Subject to Section 355 (b) below for release of the football and basketball alignments, if within one month after the district assignments have been released for other activities, a school that is not satisfied with its assignment and obtains a majority vote through written approval by the superintendents of the schools in the district to which it was assigned and of the schools in the district to which it wants to be assigned, and the contiguous relationship of all of the schools involved is not disturbed by the proposed reassignment, the school is entitled to be reassigned as it proposed. A school may appeal to be assigned to a district within a higher conference than that to which its membership qualifies it, and if the appeal is granted, it will be assigned to the higher conference for all UIL activities. Exception: Music. A school shall not appeal to be assigned to a district within a lower conference than that to which it is assigned. The school shall promptly inform the Executive Director of the proposed reassignment, furnishing the supporting statements. If the Executive Director finds that the school is entitled to be reassigned, the Executive Director shall reassign the school as it proposed and shall notify all the other schools and school districts concerned of the district reassignment.

Section 355: DISTRICT ASSIGNMENT APPEALS COMMITTEE

(a) APPEAL COMMITTEE. The chair of the Legislative Council shall appoint from the Legislative Council the members of the District Assignment Appeal Committee and designate a chair.

(b) REQUEST. Within 10 days after the conference and district assignments have been released, a school whose first appeal was denied by the sending and/or receiving district may request a review of the district assignment by filing its request and a supporting statement with the District Assignment Appeal Committee and informing in writing the superintendent and principals of the schools in the district to which it was assigned and in the district to which it wishes to be assigned.

(c) RULES. The Committee shall adopt and publish rules of procedure to be followed in the reviews.

(d) REVIEW. Upon receipt of a timely request for review, the Committee shall set the date for the review and inform the applicant school and the schools in the affected districts of the time and place of the review. Parties may provide oral testimony.

(e) MEMBER INVOLVED. If a member of the Committee is involved in the appeal, that member shall abstain from deliberations and voting, and the chair of the Legislative Council shall appoint a member of the Council to sit in that member’s place.

(f) GROUND FOR CONFERENCE REVIEW. The only ground for review of conference assignment is an error in the enrollment basis. It is not considered an error in enrollment when a school wants to revoke its decision to be elevated one conference after the deadline for making this decision has passed. Schools shall not appeal to be assigned to a smaller conference based on evidence that they submitted figures that were too high, unless original documents verifying the error(s) are presented to the UIL staff prior to the release of the cutoff figures. A charter school that is physically located within the boundaries of an independent school district with three or more high schools, and is placed in a conference higher than the one for which its enrollment qualifies it, may appeal its conference assignment according to the UIL reclassification and realignment policies.

(g) Decision of the Committee. The Committee shall make a decision in writing within two days after the review. The Executive Director shall promptly inform the applicant school and the schools in the affected districts of the decision.

Section 356: FINAL DISTRICT ASSIGNMENTS AND CONTRACTING GAMES

(a) When all reviews and appeals of conference decisions and assignments to districts have been made, the conferences and assignments to districts shall be final. 

(b) Until the conferences and assignments to districts are final, contracts for contests by schools are not valid.

(c) A school may be disqualified for district honors for up to two (2) years in that sport for contracting games with other Texas schools prior to the finalization of the reclassification and realignment by all UIL appeal committees. Athletic schedules will not be considered official until approved by the superintendent of the member school district.