Why Annual Student Residency Verification Matters for Athlete Eligibility
Every school district must take student residency seriously - especially when it comes to athlete participation. When a student athlete resides outside the proper attendance boundary, not only is the student at risk of being declared ineligible, but entire teams may face forfeitures, reversed wins, and shattered seasons.
Every school district must take student residency seriously - especially when it comes to athlete participation. When a student athlete resides outside the proper attendance boundary, not only is the student at risk of being declared ineligible, but entire teams may face forfeitures, reversed wins, and shattered seasons.
Recent Examples
- A California high school football team vacated a 2024championship after multiple violations left seven players ineligible due to fraudulent documentation. (Source)
- A high school football team ranked 4th in the state of Michigan forfeited the first three games of its season after self-reporting a residency infraction. (Source)
- Beyond football - a Maryland school had to forfeit 3football wins in 2024, 10 baseball wins in 2024 and 12 baseball wins in the 2025 due to an athlete who did not meet residency eligibility requirements. (Source)
These stories highlight the high stakes: Compliance is not optional, and oversight lapses can undo years of hard work. Yet conducting thorough residency verification every year, for every athlete(let alone every student), is a daunting task.
How CivicBell Helps
Here’s how CivicBell can help schools stay ahead of these risks:
- Annual bulk verification: Instead of doing spot checks or manual verifications, CivicBell allows you to run the annual residency verification for all students - including athletes - quickly and consistently.
- No Documents required: While schools can still request uploads of documents, CivicBell allows schools to verify residency without requiring documents and without having to scrub and store each document.
- Identify edge-cases and potential ineligibility: Actively flag cases that need a closer look so you can proactively investigate eligibility questions and ensure your teams enter each season without the risk of forfeiture.
- Compliance ready: By centralizing verification processes, you create stronger, defensible documentation in case of eligibility reviews or association investigations.
The Bottom Line
- Protect your athletic programs and the integrity of competition.
- Eliminate the hidden risk of forfeitures that can derail seasons, threaten playoffs, and damage school reputations.
- Maximize administrative efficiency - freeing up time from chasing forms to supporting student athletes.
- Build trust with families and governing bodies that your district operates fairly and transparently.
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