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Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee lawmakers will research possibility of dissolving or taking control of TSSAA
Tennessee legislators this summer will research the possibility of dissolving the governing body for Tennessee high school athletics, or bringing it under the control of the state government. Lawmakers have been at odds with the TSSAA, a 501c non-profit that has governed high school sports in Tennessee since 1925, over the association's previous transfer rule going back to 2023. Advertisement Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, and Senator Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, now say their interest goes beyond the rule. Cepicky and Lowe said during a joint April 21 press conference that they believe the TSSAA has not been trustworthy during discussions over the past six months and questioned the association's Legislative Council. More: Tennessee lawmakers pause one-time transfer bill aimed at TSSAA until 2026 More: Why out-of-state athletes can utilize TSSAA's new one-time transfer rule Cepicky and Lowe co-sponsored bills this session that were originally written to force the TSSAA to adopt a rule that allowed student-athletes one free transfer without eligibility restrictions. Those bills were eventually amended to reflect a bylaw the TSSAA amended on March 3 that allows students one free transfer to another school due to reasons of significant academic, social-emotional, environmental or mental health needs. That's if the sending school's administration attests the move is not for athletic or disciplinary reasons. Advertisement The bill was one step from becoming law after its Senate version SB16 passed, 25-4, on April 7. When HB25 reached the House floor on April 17, Cepicky acknowledged that many House members wanted him to drop the bill, so he moved it to the next calendar date in February 2026. Cepicky and Lowe say the TSSAA didn't take action on loosening students' ability to transfer until the legislature became involved. Cepicky believes the TSSAA held out on passing its rule to see if the two lawmakers would drop their bills. "Rep. Cepicky, myself, members of leadership are having very active conversations to consider whether or not there needs to be legislative oversight of this entity, or of the activity of our public school students' athletic participation," Lowe said. Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for him? Reach Tyler at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83. He also writes The Tennessean's high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to the newsletter here. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee lawmakers looking into dissolving TSSAA after one-time transfer spat
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How Tennessee one-time transfer bill aimed at TSSAA is one step closer to becoming law
The Tennessee House Education committee on Wednesday approved a bill that could create the first state law to affect the TSSAA's high school athletics transfer rules. The committee's 10-9 vote approving House Bill 25 came after 45 minutes of debate ranging from the bill's sponsor expressing distrust in the TSSAA, to the state association questioning government involvement in its bylaws. The bill will become law if approved by full House and Senate votes. The Senate version of HB25, SB16, passed through the Senate Education Committee, 6-3, last week. More: Meet The Tennessean's boys and girls 2025 All-Midstate high school wrestling teams More: Cleveland forced to vacate TSSAA girls wrestling dual state title after investigation It's the latest chapter in the one-time transfer saga that involves three years of discussions between the TSSAA and lawmakers, but the debate looks different than it did four months ago. Since then, the bills and TSSAA's transfer rules have all been heavily amended to the point their language is nearly identical. Lawmakers and the TSSAA mainly disagree about whether the finality of making high school athletic transfer rules into law is wise. The TSSAA believes state laws on the issue will open the door for litigation that one day could lead to a free-transfer policy in the state. HB25 and SB16 allow public schools to belong to the TSSAA as long as the association allows students one free transfer to another school due to reasons of significant academic, social-emotional, environmental or mental health need. That's if the sending school's administration attests the move is not for athletic or disciplinary reasons. The transfer must also take place before the first day of school. That language is very similar to the TSSAA's current rule, except the TSSAA believes students who transfer for those reasons should be able to do so throughout the year. The TSSAA believes its Legislative Council is better positioned than the state legislature to quickly change the rule if it doesn't work as intended. That was echoed by Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville on Wednesday: 'To say that it's simple to come back to this general assembly or any general assembly (and modify law) … It's disingenuous to say that. It's disingenuous to say that it's easy. Nothing is easy in this process.' HB25's author, Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, outwardly questioned the Legislative Council and believes his discussions with the TSSAA no longer seem to be in good faith. Cepicky said he feels the TSSAA will go back on its current rule if there isn't state law on it. TSSAA executive director Mark Reeves said during his testimony that the TSSAA would not do that. '(Conversations with the TSSAA) started out as very amicable,' Cepicky said. 'Unfortunately, it's gone downhill from there.' TSSAA general counsel Rick Colbert told the committee in his testimony that lawmakers put the TSSAA Legislative Council members in a difficult position by chastising them in the media for failing to approve a Baylor School proposal for a one-time transfer rule in February. Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, who authored SB16, publicly called the Council 'tone deaf.' Reeves, Colbert and newly elected Board of Control president Grant Swallows reiterated in testimony Wednesday that the association will face serious issues if there are any high school athletics transfer rules in state law. Colbert said the TSSAA is ill-equipped to handle the increased litigation he believes would take place, and that he could foresee inconsistent court decisions across different jurisdictions. 'We are disappointed with the vote but also understand that they have a tough job in trying to make an informed decision in a limited amount of time on a very complicated issue,' Reeves told The Tennessean in a text message. 'I am, however, confident (in) our member schools, our (Board of Control and Legislative Council), and our staff will continue to work tirelessly to maximize opportunities for students while trying to keep athletics in its proper perspective.' Lowe has been vested in the topic since authoring the Access and Opportunity Act (AOA), which was passed into state law in March 2023. The AOA advocates 'equal access' to extracurricular activities for transfer students, with the exception of athletics. In December, HB25 and SB16 proposed to make it illegal for public schools to use state funding for membership in any interscholastic regulatory association that doesn't allow student-athletes one free transfer to another school without eligibility restrictions, regardless of the reason. That was a much less restrictive version of the TSSAA's transfer rule at the time, which simply stated that athletes who leave one school for another in a different zone to be ineligible for one calendar year from their last varsity game unless they have a bona fide change of address. By February, with Tennessee's newly signed $447 million school voucher program as a backdrop, the TSSAA faced pressure to find athletic eligibility pathways for students who accept vouchers. The TSSAA proposed to its Legislative Council to write a provision to the current transfer rule — allowing one free transfer for non-athletic reasons — effectively loosening it. The proposal passed by an 8-4 vote. Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee one-time transfer: State legislature inches closer to passing law
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
TSSAA one-time transfer proposal in Tennessee approved with 8-4 vote
HERMITAGE — The TSSAA Legislative Council approved a proposal Monday that will allow athletes one free transfer to another school without loss of eligibility if the transfer is for reasons unrelated to athletics. The Council approved the proposal in an 8-4 vote at its special-called meeting. The new bylaw will allow students one free transfer to another school due to reasons of significant academic, social-emotional, environmental or mental health need as long as the sending school's administration could attest the move is not for athletic or disciplinary reasons. The decision comes as Tennessee legislators consider House Bill 25, which if passed into law would change TSSAA transfer rules to allow athletes one free transfer without eligibility restrictions. More: TSSAA basketball region tournament brackets, scores for Nashville area More: TSSAA basketball state tournament: Division II championships brackets The TSSAA and lawmakers have been discussing the association's transfer rules for more than a year. TSSAA member schools have wanted to keep the long-standing bylaw that requires athletes who leave one school for another in a different zone to be ineligible for one calendar year from their last varsity game unless they have a bona fide change of address. Legislators are pushing to make the rule less restrictive in light of the Tennessee legislature's approval of a $447 million statewide publicly funded school voucher program. HB25's author, Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, told The Tennesseean he would pull the legislation if the Council approved a change that aligned with the bill. Cepicky and Senator Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, a co-sponsor of the bill, both said last week that the TSSAA's new proposal wasn't sufficient enough to do that. The TSSAA Legislative Council unanimously denied a proposal at its Feb. 4 meeting that aligned with HB25 and would have allowed an unrestricted one-time transfer for athletes. Council members said they wanted to find a pathway for students to transfer without restriction as long as the move didn't involve athletics. That drove the TSSAA staff to write the proposal considered on Monday. The TSSAA voted to return in April to discuss more specifics about the proposal, such as how long schools will have to verify whether the student is transferring for non-athletic reasons. After an athlete transfers one time under the new rule, all eligibility issues will be addressed through the TSSAA's hardship rule, which requires a formal appeal to the TSSAA executive director. Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA one-time transfer proposal in Tennessee approved in 8-4 vote
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee school cell phone ban bill passes first committee hurdle
A bill allowing Tennessee school districts to adopt policies banning the use of cell phones and messaging devices during the school day – and permitting schools to require students to surrender their devices – passed a first committee hurdle on Tuesday. House Bill 932 would authorize all school districts in Tennessee to develop and implement policies restricting the use of any wireless communication devices – including cell phones, tablets, laptop computers and gaming devices – during instructional time. Districts would not be required to adopt such a policy. 'What we're doing here is we're setting a minimum level of expectation of what we believe is the best interest of the students,' said Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka. The bill leaves specifics of each device policy to individual districts' discretion. Districts could adopt policies requiring students to surrender devices at the beginning of the school day, or adopt restrictions on their use during classroom time only. Provisions are made in the bill for students with disabilities and medical needs – such as diabetic students who need to check their insulin level – to use devices as needed The bill passed unanimously out of the House Education Administration Subcommittee on Tuesday afternoon, with bipartisan support. Eight states – including Florida, California, Indiana and Louisiana – have already adopted statewide school cell phone bans. More than a dozen others are considering similar policies or pilot programs. About seven in 10 Americans support cell phone bans during class time, a nationwide Pew Research poll conducted last October found, while about a third of Americans support limitations on device use throughout the school day. Among those parents with reservations, many are concerned about being able to contact their child in cases of a disaster or emergency – like a school shooting. Rep. Rebecca Alexander, R-Jonesborough, who is sponsoring the bill in Tennessee, worked with the Tennessee Association of School Boards and the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents to draft the bill. Eighteen other House members have signed on to co-sponsor the bill. During committee on Tuesday, Alexander cited a policy active in Hamblin County that prohibits use of cell phones and personal electronic devices throughout the school day. 'They have seen marked improvement in their scores, in what the students are receiving by being able to not have a cell phone, for example, during lunch time – able to communicate with other students directly, face to face,' Alexander said. Cepicky said he has toured a few schools that have implemented similar policies. 'To see these children now starting to talk to each other and start to communicate to each other and express ideas to each other,' Cepicky said, 'It's reminiscent of the way our classrooms used to be, where kids were engaged in a day to day conversation with their peers and with their teachers.' Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee school cell phone ban: Bill passes first committee hurdle
