How does transferring work in Minnesota high school sports? Here's a step-by-step explanation
COMING AND GOING
On the varsity, teammates this season might be opponents the next
When a student-athlete wants to be immediately eligible for varsity athletics after changing high schools, there's a process to follow with the Minnesota State High School League, spelled out in league Bylaw 111.00 and spread over six pages on the league's website, mshsl.org. Here it is, step by step:
1 The student enrolls at a new school. At this point, that student is ineligible for varsity athletics at that school because the MSHSL considers all transfers ineligible for one year.
The MSHSL position: "We believe that athletics are a privilege, not a right, and we strongly encourage and support maintaining competitive equity between schools," said Bob Madison, the MSHSL associate director who oversees transfers and eligibility. Also from Madison: "We have not wavered a whole lot over the years in the number of transfers, which is roughly about 2,000 per year."
2 The new school — the MSHSL calls it the receiving school — submits the student's request to transfer via the MSHSL's online transfer portal. This information includes what exception is being cited that could lead to immediate eligibility, such as a new home address.
The MSHSL position: Transfers are eligible for varsity athletics immediately if they qualify under any of five conditions:
- They're headed to ninth grade. Students enrolling in ninth grade for the first time are eligible to compete for the varsity, regardless of where they competed previously. "That's the most likely option," Madison said.
- A family move. A residence change must include parents and the student involved, and the family must live at the new residence. "A parent can't just rent an apartment in another district," Madison said. "It has to be the whole family."
- Court-ordered change for child protection. "We don't get many of these, thankfully," Madison said.
- Divorced parents. A student is allowed to transfer once with immediate eligibility when there are custody concerns when one parent lives outside of the current district.
- Move from out of state.
If none of those applies, the student is ineligible for varsity competition for one year but remains eligible for non-varsity competition. The student also could return to the previous school for varsity athletics. Students retain eligibility at their original school for one year after enrolling at a new school.
3 The receiving school, using the transfer portal, reveals its decision about eligibility.
The MSHSL position: The league calls this step the Initial Transfer Eligibility Determination. At this point the league is relying on information provided by families and officials at the receiving school to be truthful. "We are not an investigative body," Madison said. "We are a governing body. When we get information from schools that doesn't seem in sync, we have conversations with those schools about eligibility requirements. The majority of these communications come from community sources [such as coaches or parents of players]."
4 The MSHSL staff either agrees with the decision or asks for more information or corrected information.
The MSHSL's position: Most requests for immediate eligibility end here, and the decision made depends on information provided by families and receiving schools. "There are about 100 new athletic directors over the last two years," Madison said, an indication that about 25% of ADs changed. "We've tried to make sure they all received the proper information regarding eligibility. And they can always reach out to us if they have any questions. But it, 100 percent, comes down to the accuracy of the information provided and honesty of the person providing the information."
5 The decision on eligibility is revealed to the student's family. If it disagrees with the decision, it can ask the receiving school to request an eligibility review.
The MSHSL position: Once a family requests an eligibility review, the student is no longer eligible at the previous school, meaning returning to that school for immediate eligibility in varsity athletics is no longer an option. The eligibility review involves what the MSHSL calls policy exceptions: Adoption, abandonment, a significant change in family finances, the death of a parent, bullying and administrative error are among them. Specific documents are necessary in these cases, and state law comes into play in the case of bullying. A change in income is only an exception if it creates a hardship that can be shown in tax returns over three years. "Like the loss of a job," Madison said. "... Something like the increase in the cost of transportation to and from a school doesn't qualify."
6 The school the student is leaving reviews the request and responds via the portal.
The MSHSL position: This is the first point at which the "sending" school, as the league calls it, gets involved. If the sending school does not agree further review is justified, no review will be made.
7 The MSHSL staff reviews the request and documentation provided and responds to the receiving school. If the MSHSL agrees to study the case further, it goes to the eligibility committee, made up of five members of the MSHSL Board of Directors. That committee hears cases from mid-August through May. The transferring student has 15 minutes to present a case to the committee, which issues a decision that day.
The MSHSL position: The league has a list of circumstances that are commonly cited as reasons for transferring but don't lead to review by the eligibility committee. Among them: The family prefers the new school for its curriculum or its athletics. Madison said the MSHSL sees athletics as a piece of the entire educational process and not a place "for someone just looking for a better deal." Last year, the committee heard about 60 cases. Madison didn't have numbers about how many transferring students were granted immediate varsity eligibility by the committee. State privacy laws and the Data Practices Act limit availability of student records.