KHSAA could have a first draft of new high school transfer rules at its July meeting
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association took another small step toward drawing up new rules regarding the transfer of athletes from one school to another Wednesday at its May board of control meeting.
The board authorized KHSAA staff to prepare official change proposals to its transfer bylaws for the body to review in July and potentially send on for consideration to the KHSAA’s full membership in September.
“The board has spent the bulk of the last two years reviewing the changing landscape of both school enrollment patterns and transfer restrictions throughout the country and now clearly has its sights set on finalizing a proposal for membership consideration,” commissioner Julian Tackett said in a press release regarding the issue Wednesday. “The board will finalize that proposal development at its July meeting so a vote can be taken by the membership in September. Clearly, our members and constituencies do not want any form of a one-time, no-criteria, free transfer for every student athlete currently subject to Bylaw 6, so this research has been invaluable in identifying issues to help alleviate concerns about the rule without sacrificing key values around interscholastic athletics.”
Recent state laws broadening school choice and the escalating trend of transfers at the college level have created a significant demand for more high school transfer freedom. Ten states have some form of transfer freedom, including Kentucky neighbors Indiana and West Virginia. Four other states have legislation pending to allow open transfers.
During Kentucky’s last legislative session, a bill was introduced to allow one-time transfers to another school without restriction. The author of that bill, Rep. Nick Wilson, R-Whitley County, later withdrew it after discussions with KHSAA staff and instead offered a successful joint resolution calling on the KHSAA to review and improve its transfer process and provide a report to the Legislative Research Commission by Dec. 1.
While Tackett on Wednesday indicated an unconditional, one-time free transfer for any student athlete in grades nine through 12 appears off the table, he said the board could consider a number of other options to address the proliferation of transfer requests that have inundated Kentucky high schools and KHSAA staff in recent years.
Current transfer rules force high school varsity athletes who played any amount for their former school to sit out one year before becoming eligible to play for their new school unless certain waiver criteria are met. Waivers include a verified change of address.
But the bureaucratic process to confirm waivers and approve transfers can be lengthy, and the appeals process can be lengthier still, creating a huge crush of transfer rulings ahead of each school year.
Changes the board could consider include:
▪ Allowing one-time transfers for high school freshmen and rising sophomores. Currently, only seventh- and eighth-grade athletes who play up into the high school varsity level in non-contact sports are allowed free movement out of their feeder schools.
▪ Allowing one-time transfers to high school athletes who have only played a small percentage for their original varsity teams. That percentage would be set by the board for the full membership to consider and could range anywhere from players who pinch-run or play special teams to players who see slightly more playing time.
▪ Reducing the length of the sit-out period so that it’s less than a calendar year in some circumstances.
▪ Reviewing and perhaps revising the KHSAA’s 11 eligibility waivers and increasing awareness of those exceptions at their member schools.
▪ Converting transfer requests, appeals and documentation to a digital process to speed rulings.
▪ Eliminating the loophole that allows F-1 visa foreign exchange students to play multiple years for a private school when federal law allows them to play only one year at a public school.
The KHSAA staff will also provide a detailed report on its review of the last three years of transfer cases with an analysis of trends.
The board next meets July 30 to Aug. 1 at the Hyatt Regency in Louisville where it will orient new members coming into the board and consider drawing up and giving a first reading to an official transfer rule proposal for the full membership. A second reading would occur at its Sept. 17 meeting.
Any change to the KHSAA’s bylaws will require a two-thirds majority vote of its 290-some member schools at its annual meeting on Sept. 18.
In other action, the board:
▪ Voted Paul Laurence Dunbar athletic director Damon Kelley as its 2025-26 president elect.
▪ Approved the use of golf carts by each head coach of a full-team participating in the boys and girls state golf tournaments.
