January 24, 2006
FHSAA Representative Assembly adopts comprehensive revision to residence, transfer rules
The residence and transfer proposal, sponsored by Commissioner John A. Stewart, will establish the school in which a student begins the ninth grade as the student's school of residence for athletic purposes. Any subsequent transfer during the student's high school career, other than one corresponding with a joint physical relocation by the student and his or her parents to another address that requires a change in school, will restrict the student's eligibility to the sub-varsity level in the new school for one calendar year. The rule provides 10 exceptions through which a waiver of the period of restricted eligibility may be sought from the Commissioner. If the Commissioner denies a waiver application or a transfer results from circumstances not covered by one of the 10 exceptions, it may be appealed to one of the Association's four sectional appeals committees and subsequently, if necessary, to the FHSAA Board of Directors.
"The membership voiced its concerns about our current residence and transfer rules and we developed this proposal in response to those concerns," Stewart said. "We have spent the better part of the last year drafting and redrafting the proposal based on feedback we received from our Board of Directors, the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and individual member schools who took the time to attend one of the many area meetings that our staff has conducted around the state.
"Today, the membership, through its delegates to the Assembly, said that not only is this something that they want, but something that they need. It will go a long way toward cleaning up the growing problem of students transferring for athletic reasons and those schools who market themselves to students who make themselves free agents.Hopefully, once again we will be able to level the playing field in our Association."