Squarepeg;
Florida's governing association, the Florida High School Athletics Association (Pace is a member) does permit transfers, without having to sit out a year. In fact, rather than requiring the tranferring student to sit out a year except in certain circumstances,they have it backwards. The FHSAA requires proof that the player was recruited by the coach or school officials to act to prevent the transferee from playing. Parents and other boosters, if not acting with the coach's or school's knowledge or direction, are free to recruit with impunity, and they do. It's a terrible system, and it is common knowledge that in addition to the parents and boosters recruiting, many private, and some public, schools "recruit" with the coach's blessing or even his active involvement. Many players change schools 2, 3, or even 4 times during high school and who can blame them if it's legal and they think the opportunities are better elsewhere.
Do some states do it the way you suggest? That is, in some states is the transferring player required to sit for a year before playing for the new school unless he fits into an exception (such as he moved, needs special program not available at his former school, etc.)? Maybe the FHSAA should consider changing the rule.