State Senate passes bill allowing one-time transfer rule for high school athletes

Basketball about to go through the hoop (Photo by Pixabay/Pexels)

A bill that would allow high school student athletes to transfer schools once without losing athletic eligibility passed the state Senate on Monday.

The measure from State Senator Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, would allow a student to transfer to another school due to a significant academic, social-emotional, environmental, or mental health need, provided the sending school does not attest the transfer was due to athletic or disciplinary reasons. The bill would put into law a move made by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) in March to allow such transfers. Under previous TSSAA rules, students could not transfer to another school in a different zone for one calendar year from their last varsity game unless they had a bona fide change of address.

Several lawmakers spoke in favor of the bill. Senator Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, told legislators he supported the change and asked if a student athlete’s confidence or mental health being seriously affected by a coach would fall within the scope of the bill for a transfer.

“Some coaches have the ability in their methods to destroy the confidence of kids and make them not want to be there,” said Crowe. “I would think that, for the record, that would stand in this case.”

Senator Lowe agreed with the sentiment expressed by Crowe. He said such cases are exactly the reason lawmakers stepped in. Just a month prior to the TSSAA’s March rule revision allowing student transfers, the organization’s Legislative Council voted down a rule change permitting such transfers.

“It wasn’t until this body began to press, did we actually get the ability of a student who might be in an emotional crisis, or a student who might have a better academic opportunity at another school, the ability to move without sacrificing at the altar of the organization a year’s worth of eligibility,” said Lowe. “It took our involvement advocating for children and families who had no voice at the table.”

Senator Bo Watson, R-Hixon, pointed out that students involved in band, theater, or arts can transfer schools and immediately become involved in those activities. He called the previous athletics rule unfair and said losing a year of eligibility can have a serious impact on a student’s future.

“We have for a long time treated our athletic community in the interscholastic world differently than we treat all other students,” said Watson. “In today’s world where exposure to higher education means perhaps better scholarships, a student who may get a more valued or valuable scholarship at a school would perhaps not get it because they would have to sit out a year. Inherently it is unfair to that student, that athlete and their family that they don’t get the opportunity to maximize their skillset the way all these others do.”

Covington Republican Paul Rose expressed concern about the one-time transfer potentially opening up the possibility for further changes in the future.

“I wonder if this is not the proverbial camel’s nose under the tent. Are we later going to come back and say, you can transfer as many times as you want to?” he asked.

Lowe responded that many pieces of legislation are often referred to as so-called slippery slopes. He went on to say that while he couldn’t predict the actions of future legislative bodies, he believes his bill allows students to explore other opportunities and puts families in charge of education decisions.

“I believe that a one-time transfer solves 99 percent of the problems out there,” said Lowe. “It solves the situation where a child may need to move because they found the wrong fit, because they were told in the eighth grade, you’ve got to choose. It solves a child who comes to an institution and finds they have social issues with other people in that institution.”

The measure passed in a 25-4 vote. Its companion bill in the House passed the Education Committee last week and next goes before the Calendar and Rules Committee.