This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Opponents of a new transfer policy for high school student-athletes will have another chance to make their case before the Utah Board of Education.
The board announced Tuesday that a hearing will be held Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to receive feedback on the policy, which allows students to switch schools — and school teams — at will if they compete at the subvarsity levels.
Varsity athletes can switch schools freely if they also switch sports, the policy states, and can compete in the same sport if their transfer is motivated by a family relocation, or if death, divorce or bullying necessitate a move to a new school.
Thursday's meeting is scheduled to last two hours, with 20 minutes alloted to representatives from the Utah High School Activities Association, which requested the hearing, and the remaining time open for public comment.
"Individuals from the public will be given two to three minutes each, depending on how many there are," school board spokeswoman Emilie Wheeler said.
Most Utah high schools are members of the activities association, known as UHSAA, which traditionally prohibits school transfers after eligibility has been established at a school, unless a student receives a waiver.
The school board's new rules, approved in December, circumvent UHSAA's internal policies by prohibiting public schools from joining an activities associations that restricts athlete transfers beyond the board's guidelines.
UHSAA executive director Rob Cuff said the association is concerned about the specifics of the board's policy, as well as the intrusion of the state school board into extra-curricular activities.
"Our schools have been against this transfer rule, and would want the opportunity to still have local control," he said. "We're a member-driven association. Let's let our member schools decide how they want to deal with playing rules."
The school board policy was approved in a 9-5 vote. But six of the board members who voted in favor of the policy were replaced by new board members last week.
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