Florida considering changes to high school athletics
The Florida House Education Committee is scheduled to hear a proposed committee bill relating to high school athletics today. The bill has many opponents that believe it could create very little, if any regulation for high school student athletes.
Among the proposed changes is that it prohibits private schools and school boards from adopting stricter rules on transfers.
The bill was amended Wednesday to take an aim at transfers, impose eligibility rules which include age and it includes an interesting section.
“A student who transfers during the school year is eligible in the school to which he or she transfers if the transfer is made by a deadline established by the Florida High School Athletic Association, which may not be before the date authorized for the beginning of practice for a sport.
•This bill is written for the state of Florida, but its stance on transfers could become widespread if it passes. Under these guidelines, a student could technically start the academic year with one school and play a fall sport. They could then transfer to another school to play a winter or spring sport as long as it is finalized before the first practice date. That could be tricky, especially with red tape involved in such a move, but it could create a shaky precedent. Could Pennsylvania follow suit? In that case, Stephon McGinnis’ transfer from Ambridge to Aliquippa would have been likely disallowed, while the eligibility concerns regarding Lincoln Park’s basketball transfers would have been cleared. I’m not sure if a student moving to a different district would impact a potential eligibility hearing, which was what happened with McGinnis.
The bill then tackles the issue of recruiting. Schools accused of recruiting violations would undergo an appeals process and if it is decided it is guilty of recruiting a student athlete, that school may be required to participate in a higher classification for the sport in question for a minimum of one classification cycle (likely two years), in addition to any other appropriate fines or sanctions (postseason bans). The student cannot be punished if the recruiting violation is committed by a coach, teammate or administrator.
•Fans of Pennsylvania high school athletics just made a collective sigh of relief. Recruiting is a big topic with the charter school boom and dominance of private schools at the state level. Competing in a higher classification is a perfect solution to the problem, but potentially punishing a high school student for being drawn in by recruitment is a tough sell for me. I’m not sure how that would be handled. The NCAA would strip an athlete of its amateur status and rule them indefinitely ineligible. I hope that isn’t the case here. These are kids we’re talking about. The actions of adults to potentially manipulate them into a transfer should be taken seriously, but the question of who is guilty is one that will be tricky.
“Require the parent of a student who is participating in interscholastic athletic competition or who is a candidate for an interscholastic athletic team to sign and return an informed consent that explains the nature and risk of concussion and head injury, including the risk of continuing to play after concussion or head injury, each year before participating in interscholastic athletic competition or engaging in any practice, tryout, workout, or other physical activity associated with the student’s candidacy for an interscholastic athletic team.”
•The concussion issue will move to the forefront for many high school athletic governing bodies to avoid potential lawsuits. The bill goes on to list the concussion protocol when an athlete is suspected of suffering a head injury, but realistically, it is difficult to police how each athletic program handles the situation. Even teams on the professional and collegiate level are having a difficult time monitoring potential head injuries.
The bill also restricts the discrimination of a student who chooses to pursue a private education, which will make the “recruiting” argument grow. How does a governing body decide if a player transfers for athletic intent? Unless there is clear-cut evidence of recruiting, it does not seem there is much that can be done.
With the open transfer rule during school years, it will leave the door open for students to move schools for athletics. Unless a coach, teammate or administrator slips up badly and leaves evidence revealing improprieties, nothing can be done.
As I said before, this is not set in stone and yes, this does pertain to Florida; but the state is a hot bed for high school athletics and could cause other states to follow suit. It does provide stricter penalties for recruitment, but it does not solve the private/public school debate.
I don’t think anything will ever solve that. With more parents seeking alternative education for their children and public school funding dropping, you will see more charter schools popping up and private schools become a more attractive option.
If you are like me and would enjoy reading the 63-page document, you can find it here: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=2848&Session=2015&DocumentType=Proposed Committee Bills (PCBs)&FileName=PCB EDC 15-02.pdf.
You’ll have to copy and paste the URL. All paragraphs that have been crossed out have been amended. It is a very interesting read and truthfully, reflects how high school athletics are changing.