High School Athletics and Due Process: Notice of Eligibility Rules: \u3ci\u3eTeare v. Board of Education\u3c/i\u3e, No. CV77-L-190 (D. Neb. Sept. 16, 1977); \u3ci\u3eCompagno v. Nebraska School Activities Association\u3c/i\u3e, No. CV77-L-192 (D. Neb. Sept. 16, 1977)

Teare v. Board of Education and Compagno v. Nebraska School Activities Association, decisions issued by Chief Judge Urbom in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, should be of interest to every attorney and school official associated with high school athletics. These companion cases involve the related issues of whether participation in high school athletics is an interest protected by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment and, if so, whether the notice of eligibility rules provided in each instance satisfied the requirements of that constitutional protection. Teare and Compagno are significant for several reasons. They extended due process protection to a single specific segment of the total educational program which is generally provided in a secondary school. The discussions of the factors which should be considered and the standards which should be applied in determining what process is due provide excellent guidance for school officials. Furthermore, these cases illustrate an application of due process considerations relative to the access to as contrasted with the removal from an educational program or activity