New Transfer Rules from OHSAA. Important for freshman class.

[biggdowgg]

can you just explain what it all means..short hand

[db98]

You are basically correct. Athletic eligibility is established by
a.)attending 5 days of school after completing 8th grade or
b.)participating in a scrimmage or contest.
Any change of school after that point is considered a transfer. If you transfer you are ineligible for sports for one calender year from the enrollment date of new school.
If your custodial parent (that you live with) changes to a new district/attendance zone and the transfer coincides with the change of address (give or take a couple of weeks) you are eligible at the new school.*

*If the parents then change address to a new school zone in less than a year after the first transfer, the child must transfer to the new school zone to retain eligibility for sports. Example Billy starts at Adena, after football parents move to Waverly he is now eligible at Waverly, if the parents move to Jackson after spring season he can stay at Waverly (if the school wll keep him) but will become immediately ineligible fo sports for 1 year after the parents move date to Jackson. To play sports that year, he would have to move to Jackson with his parents.

*The 50 mile rule was also added last year. If you compete in a scrimmage/contest then transfer to a school LESS than 50 miles away you will be ineligible for THAT SPORT for the remainder of the season. Example: Joe plays week 1 football for Zane Trace, then moves to Unioto. Joe is INELIGIBLE for FOOTBALL at Unioto, but could play soccer, golf, cheerlead...etc. If he moved to Canton McKinley he would be eligible for football.

To my knowledge there is no rule about only transferring once. There is a one time exception from private to public school or public to private school (but you must meet some specific citeria for the second one).

If you have more specific questions I can try to answer. I have seen some pretty crazy cases go through OHSAA.

[PLEASANTFLYER]

You are basically correct. Athletic eligibility is established by
a.)attending 5 days of school after completing 8th grade or
b.)participating in a scrimmage or contest.
Any change of school after that point is considered a transfer. If you transfer you are ineligible for sports for one calender year from the enrollment date of new school.
If your custodial parent (that you live with) changes to a new district/attendance zone and the transfer coincides with the change of address (give or take a couple of weeks) you are eligible at the new school.*

*If the parents then change address to a new school zone in less than a year after the first transfer, the child must transfer to the new school zone to retain eligibility for sports. Example Billy starts at Adena, after football parents move to Waverly he is now eligible at Waverly, if the parents move to Jackson after spring season he can stay at Waverly (if the school wll keep him) but will become immediately ineligible fo sports for 1 year after the parents move date to Jackson. To play sports that year, he would have to move to Jackson with his parents.

*The 50 mile rule was also added last year. If you compete in a scrimmage/contest then transfer to a school LESS than 50 miles away you will be ineligible for THAT SPORT for the remainder of the season. Example: Joe plays week 1 football for Zane Trace, then moves to Unioto. Joe is INELIGIBLE for FOOTBALL at Unioto, but could play soccer, golf, cheerlead...etc. If he moved to Canton McKinley he would be eligible for football.

To my knowledge there is no rule about only transferring once. There is a one time exception from private to public school or public to private school (but you must meet some specific citeria for the second one).

If you have more specific questions I can try to answer. I have seen some pretty crazy cases go through OHSAA.

I believe you have to have a change of legal residence outside the school district you are transfering from.

[db98]

I believe you have to have a change of legal residence outside the school district you are transfering from.

Yes, if it is the first time you have gone to that private school. There is an exeption for kids who have attended a private school consistently for a number of years then went to public school and then went back to the private school. The purpose of this rule was for kids whose families may have hit a hard time and had to leave the private school for some reason (financial, etc..). Example: Jimmy goes to school his whole life in the catholic schools that feed into Columbus Bishop Ready after 9th grade at Ready his dad loses his job and they cannot afford tuition, so he enrolls in Franklin Heights (he uses his one time exception here private to public). After sophomore year dad gets a new job and Jimmy wants to play for the Knights again. Since he had consistently attended catholic schools he is eligible for a one time return to Ready. rule 4-7-2 exception 7

That is why I ended my statement with:

(but you must meet some specific citeria for the second one).

[db98]

All rules apply to everyone as soon as they are voted on.

[db98]

Actually that rule is more relaxed. Before last year it was ONE day in the school and you were considered enrolled. So those guys were locked in earlier than the rule now. They didn't have 4 days to figure out this school was wrong for them.

[pembrook burrows III]

The biggest change involved the elimination of what was previously referred to as Exception 6. It allowed transfers based upon the agreement of the Superintendents of the 2 school districts "to protect the student's mental or physical well-being." This was the biggest transfer loophole since it did not require the student, or his or her family, to relocate their residence. Just 2 signatures. As indicated in the OHSAA minutes cited below, over 500 transfers were approved in this manner last year. This is now not an option. Oherwise, you probably would have seen a few more "switcheroos" at local schools this past summer.

Here is an excerpt of the OHSAA April of 2008 minutes:

"3.) Bylaw 6, Transfer - Delete Exception 6 of Bylaw 4-7-2, Renumber remainder accordingly.

EXCEPTION 6 - Subject to the provisions of exception 7 below, a student may transfer to a different school and be eligible provided the superintendents of both districts enter into a written agreement that consents to the attendance and specifies that the purpose of such attendance is to protect the student’s physical or mental well-being. Only one such exemption shall be permitted in any four school years. An individual may appeal the superintendent’s decision to an Appeals Panel created by the Executive Director of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (B.A.S.A.). This Appeals Panel shall consist of superintendents
appointed from the B.A.S.A. membership in Ohio. The Appeals Procedures adopted by the Board of Control and set forth in the OHSAA Handbook shall be observed when conducting the appeals referenced herein. The student shall not be eligible until declared eligible by the Commissioner upon submission of the exemption form.

If passed, this issue becomes effective on June 1, 2008.

Notes on proposed change — 1.) This exception, which was originally included in the revisions to the transfer bylaw adopted in 2000, has been inconsistently applied by member school superintendents and has created considerable concern from the membership. 2.) The language of the current exception was modified to make it applicable to all school districts, both public and non-public, and the tuition waiver was never included. 3.) Currently, over 500 transfers have been approved during the 2007-08 school year through the winter sports season. 4.) If passed, no agreements dated after June 1, 2008, shall be recognized.

Note that if this issue is approved, the OHSAA shall be authorized to remove all references to Exception 6 wherever they appear within the Bylaws."

The OHSAA approved this change by a 9-0 vote.