14 Del. Admin. Code § 1043-3.0

Current through Reigster Vol. 28, No. 6, December 1, 2024

Section 1043-3.0 - Recognition of Officials' Associations

3.1 The officiating of interscholastic contests in the State which involve one or more Member Schools shall be under the control of the DIAA and such control may include, but not be restricted to, giving examinations, evaluating officials, setting game fees, determining the number of officials per game, and assigning officials.

3.2 An officials' association which desires to officiate middle school and high school contests and Competitions shall request recognition and approval from DIAA by submitting the following documents to the DIAA Officials' Committee:

3.2.1 A letter of request to be recognized by DIAA and indicating the association's willingness to abide by the Delaware Department of Education's rules and regulations. The president of the requesting officials' association or their designee shall petition the Board to render a decision.

3.2.2 A brief history of the association, including, but not limited to, the officiating experience (if any) of the members and if a new association is being formed, the purpose for which the association is being formed.

3.2.3 A copy of the association's constitution and bylaws including a statement that it does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, religion, etc.

3.2.4 A description of the association's evaluation and rating system.

3.2.5 A description of the association's recruiting and training programs for new members.

3.2.6 A membership roster indicating the number of years of experience at the subvarsity, varsity, and state tournament levels for each member and also their most recent rating in a previous association. This information must be documented and is subject to verification.

3.2.7 Letters of recommendation or names of references from leagues which the association has serviced during its existence.

3.3 The Officials' Committee shall review the aforementioned documents and meet with the officers of the association to discuss their petition.

3.4 The Officials' Committee may consult with any other interested parties during the evaluation process.

3.5 The Officials' Committee shall report its findings to the Board and recommend that the officials' association be granted recognition, granted recognition with conditions, or denied recognition.

3.6 The Board shall consider the petition for recognition and the Officials' Committee's recommendation and make a decision to approve or deny the request. The petitioner may request an evidentiary hearing before the Board. The Board shall decide if the petitioning officials' association shall be granted recognition, granted recognition with conditions, or denied recognition.

3.7 An approved association shall serve a minimum two-year probationary period during which time the association shall be evaluated. An association designated as probationary is ineligible to provide officials to work the applicable DIAA State Tournament.

3.7.1 Members of the Officials' Committee and the applicable Sport Committee shall comprise the Officials Association Evaluation Committee (Evaluation Committee). The new officials' association shall be evaluated according to the following criteria:

3.7.1.1 Total number of games worked at the varsity level.

3.7.1.2 Total number of officials who worked games at the varsity level.

3.7.1.3 Total number of Member Schools who contracted the services of the association.

3.7.1.4 A comparison of the percentage of games the association worked against the percentage of games worked by other DIAA recognized officials' associations in that sport.

3.7.1.5 A comparison of the percentage of the association's registered officials against the number who worked Varsity level games.

3.7.1.6 A comparison of the ratio from subsection 3.7.1.5 against any existing associations' same ratio.

3.7.1.7 In addition, the evaluation may be based on any other available information which may include but is not limited to: the associations ability to work a minimum of 25 percent of all varsity contests played by DIAA Member Schools in that sport; written complaints by contracted schools; evaluations by Member Schools; input from Member Schools; or any other relevant information.

3.7.2 The results of all evaluations shall be shared with the probationary association at the end of each season. The association shall have the opportunity to add comments to the final evaluation.

3.8 At the end of the minimum two-year probationary period, the Evaluation Committee shall recommend to the Board one of the following options based on the evaluations and the probationary association's ability to work varsity contests equal to or greater than 25 percent of all varsity contests played by Member Schools:

3.8.1 Re-approve conditionally for another year on probationary status.

3.8.2 Disapprove so as to no longer remain as an approved association.

3.8.3 Re-approve conditionally with state tournament consideration based upon the sport worked.

3.8.4 Completely approve the association with full state tournament consideration equal to any existing associations.

3.9 The Board shall consider the petition for recognition and the Evaluation Committee's recommendation and make a decision. The probationary officials association may request an evidentiary hearing before the Board. The Board shall decide if the petitioning officials' association shall be:

3.9.1 Re-approved conditionally for another year on probationary status.

3.9.2 Disapproved so as to no longer remain as an approved association.

3.9.3 Re-approved conditionally with state tournament consideration based upon the sport worked.

3.9.4 Completely approved with full state tournament consideration equal to any existing associations.

3.10 Once an officials' association is completely approved, it is required to annually submit a written report on the appropriate form to the Officials' Committee. The report shall include information on the association's executive board, membership, and recruitment strategies.

3.11 The Officials' Committee shall review the submitted report to ensure that the association is meeting the goals of education-based athletics. If the Officials' Committee determines that the association is not meeting the goals of education-based athletics, the Officials' Committee shall notify the association of the goals it has not met, the association may be placed on an improvement plan, and the Officials' Committee shall decide whether to recommend revocation of the association's approval and recognition to the Board.

14 Del. Admin. Code § 1043-3.0

26 DE Reg. 209 (9/1/2022) (Final)