W.Va. Senate Bill looking to change eligibility rules for first-time high school transfers

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - A West Virginia senate bill is being introduced that is attempting to exclude one-year ineligibility for first-time high school transfers.

The current rule for the W.Va. Secondary Schools Activities Commission (WVSSAC) states that any high school transfers within the state -- unless with an approved appeal -- must take one year of ineligibility in sports. However, state senate bill 262 would eliminate the ineligibility for first-time transfers.

Those for the bill state that they are wanting to provide an opportunity for students to get a better chance with playing their sport.

However, those who are against -- such as WVSSAC executive director, Bernie Dolan -- believe that the rule has the potential to create unfair competition and issues with academics. Dolan also says that before the current rule was in place, there were many transfers going on that impacted academics in the state.

“Well, we used to have a rule that allowed you to transfer every year as long as you did it in the first 11 days. And that didn’t take long for people to be moving all over the place. And we determined -- the schools determined -- that wasn’t a great academic reasoning. So, that’s when we came to this one,” says Dolan.

As of now, the senate bill is already filed to be introduced to the West Virginia senate as of January 17.

We will have more information as this story continues.

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