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Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
TSSAA Legislative Council to review new one-time transfer proposal at special meeting
The TSSAA Legislative Council will hold a special meeting March 3 to discuss a proposal that would allow athletes one free transfer to another school without loss of eligibility if the transfer is for reasons unrelated to athletics. The TSSAA staff proposed an addition to the eligibility bylaws that would 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 proposal comes as Tennessee legislators consider House Bill No. 0025, which if passed into law would change TSSAA transfer rules to allow athletes one free transfer without eligibility restrictions. The TSSAA's long-standing transfer rule 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. More: TSSAA not only state facing legislative pressure to change high school transfer rules The Council unanimously denied a proposal at its Feb. 4 meeting that would have allowed Tennessee high school athletes a one-time free transfer without eligibility restrictions regardless of the reason. That proposal, from Baylor School in Chattanooga, aligned with House Bill No. 0025. The TSSAA released its new proposal Tuesday as an agenda item for the Council's special meeting. Days earlier, the TSSAA emailed Tennessee high school coaches a Google Form asking for input on transfer rules. The Tennessean obtained a screenshot of the survey, which contained one question: 'Are you in favor of one-time transfers with no restriction in varsity eligibility as proposed in House Bill 25?' The Tennessean does not have access to the results of the survey. A transfer by a new student under the new proposal must be consistent with three primary TSSAA objectives for member schools in its bylaws: to maintain academics as schools' primary mission; prevent the exploitation of students for athletic purposes; and foster fair competition among TSSAA member schools. More: Nashville area's top TSSAA softball players to watch for 2025 season More: Nashville area's top TSSAA baseball players to watch for 2025 season The new proposal states the school from which the athlete is transferring would have to verify that the move is not for athletic or disciplinary reasons. The school would have seven days to provide verification of that; if the school doesn't, 'the conclusion will be made that the student meets the above-mentioned requirements." After an athlete transfers one time, all eligibility issues will be addressed through the TSSAA's hardship rule, which requires a formal appeal to the TSSAA executive director. The Council asked the TSSAA staff at its previous meeting to create potential changes to the residence rule because its exception for boarding school students creates a competitive advantage. The TSSAA's current residency rule allows boarding students to gain immediate athletic eligibility without a bona fide change of address if transferring from 20 or more miles away. Transfer students at non-boarding private schools and public schools aren't allowed to do that unless the TSSAA grants them a hardship waiver, or if their entire family unit moves into the zone to which they're transferring. The Council will consider several options at its meeting next week, including eliminating the residence rule; not allowing athletic eligibility for an international student who has completed the secondary school requirements in his/her country of origin; or requiring all students changing schools in the 11th or 12th grade to be living with a parent. If a student is not living with a parent, the student must have lived with the person for at least twelve months before changing schools. Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA writes new one-time tranfser proposal
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TSSAA Legislative Council denies one-time transfer proposal in Tennessee with 12-0 vote
MT. JULIET — The TSSAA Legislative Council denied a proposal Tuesday that would have allowed Tennessee high school athletes a one-time free transfer without eligibility restrictions. A motion to deny was approved by a 12-0 vote in response to a proposal made by Baylor School in Chattanooga. The TSSAA has been under pressure from Tennessee lawmakers to change its long-standing transfer rule, which required 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. The proposal would have allowed no more than one transfer without residency requirements. Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, proposed House Bill No. 0025 in December, which would change TSSAA transfer rules to allow athletes one free transfer without eligibility restrictions. The bill's language was more direct than previous legislation aimed at the TSSAA's transfer regulations, and it has Senate sponsorship. Also, Tennessee Republican lawmakers last week gave final approval to a $447 million statewide publicly funded school voucher program, which will offer 20,000 scholarships of about $7,300 to Tennessee students. The school-choice philosophy behind vouchers and the TSSAA's previous transfer rules were not aligned. The association's restrictions might have deterred athletes from accepting a voucher if they could not gain immediate eligibility at another school. More: NFHS announces high school football rule changes, including electronic communication More: What are the Nashville area's best TSSAA basketball gymnasiums? We narrowed it to 15 Tennessee's current voucher program encompasses 2,095 students from three counties who can receive taxpayer funding to attend private schools. Those transfer requests are processed under the current TSSAA rules. According to a TSSAA poll, a little more than half its member schools said they didn't want to amend transfer rules. Baylor, whose rule proposal for a one-time transfer was tabled by the Council in December, stated in its proposal that the change became necessary as a result of the TSSAA Legislative Council amending its amateur rule to allow NIL payments in 2023. 'That acknowledged the commercial interests of high school athletes,' Baylor stated as its rationale in the proposal. 'Continuing to enforce the existing transfer rules that restrict the value of a high school athlete is and will continue to be under antitrust scrutiny as the TSSAA is the lone body in which a high school athlete can compete in the state of Tennessee. The threat of possible litigation from affected families towards the TSSAA, and/or its member schools warrants significant change to the current transfer rules.' The Legislative Council also unanimously denied a proposal from St. Andrew's - Sewanee that would have loosened transfer rules. It proposed that students transferring for academic reasons can retain varsity eligibility if their previous school could confirm the move was academic and unrelated to sports. Principals at schools on both sides of the transfer would have had to agree to that. The Council also denied a proposal, 11-1, from McCallie that would have lessened the competitive advantage boarding schools have over others. McCallie proposed to put a limit on the number of boarding school students who can compete on athletic teams. The proposal also stipulated that students transferring from inside Tennessee to a boarding school after ninth grade would be ineligible for a year. Transfers from beyond Tennessee would be immediately eligible unless they're seniors. 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 denied in 12-0 vote
