High School Girls' Lacrosse Rules Changes Announced for 2026

The National Federation of State High School Associations has announced girls’ high school rules changes that will be implemented for the 2026 season.

The changes were proposed during rules committee meetings last month and subsequently approved by the NFHS’ board of directors. USA Lacrosse collaborates with the NFHS on the rules for high school boys’ and girls’ lacrosse.

In girls’ lacrosse, the primary focus of the rules committee continues to be on improving game flow and pace of play. 

Notable girls’ changes include:

A change to Rule 5-2 Penalty 1 (Starting Play — Draw) now allows any player to take the free position when one player draws illegally. Also, for Rule 7-3 Penalties 1a and 3a (Deputy Rules), the offending player shall be placed 4 meters away (instead of behind) from the player taking the free position for a goal circle foul.

Rule 4-3-3d, e, aligns the restart procedure after a possession time-out when the goalkeeper has possession of the ball in the goal circle by requiring play to restart at the closest dot and allows any player to restart play.

Under Rule 2-4-5, regarding crosse inspection, the allowable times for stick check requests have been revised. Stick checks may only be requested “at any point during a quarter break, halftime, a team-called time-out, prior to the start of an overtime period, prior to the start of a draw, and shall include immediately following goals in regulation and overtime periods,” according to the new rules.

Finally, Rule 2-8-3 (New) & Penalty, regarding electronic equipment, clarifies that no on-field player shall wear any audio (microphone) or video (camera) device during a game. Violations will result in a coach misconduct penalty.

“We appreciate the NFHS’ leadership and their commitment to the student athlete’s experience in lacrosse, and we value the opportunity to work with them in this space and to support the growth of the game,” said Caitlin Kelley, Senior Director of Sport Experience at USA Lacrosse.