Changing courses on a stringent transfer rule, adopted approximately 24 months ago, the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland announced last week that it has adopted a new transfer rule, allowing student-athtletes to transfer to and from IAAM schools, including from one member school to another, without penalty, as long as the transfer takes place during a newly established Open Enrollment Period.
Established in a vote by the IAAM Heads of School on May 5, 2008, the new rule passed by a margin of 21-9.
“We felt that too many student-athletes were hurt by our current policy,” said IAAM Executive Director Sue Thompson, in a written statement.
Prior to the 2006-2007 school year, the IAAM and the MIAA, a conference governing the boys’ athletic programs of 28 Baltimore area private schools, including 15 schools with dual membership in the IAAM, each passed what became and remains the strictest transfer rule in the state of Maryland.
That rule, which is still in place in the MIAA, requires any student who has played a varsity sport and wishes to transfer to a member school, whether they are coming from another member school or a school outside of the conference, to sit out a full calendar year before being allowed to participate in the same sport or sports at his or her new school.
The only exceptions to this rule included a change of a student’s primary residence by 30 miles or more, and the elimination of a sport by the student’s previous school.
The IAAM and MIAA held joint talks over the last several months in an effort to find a modification to this rule, but in the end the Associations went in opposite directions.
“The IAAM and MIAA had initially gotten together to frame a policy that would work for both organizations, meaning, ninth graders could transfer without penalty during an Open Enrollment Period as well as non-members, but the [IAAM] Board of Governors unanimously wanted a broader stroke with greater freedom to attend the school that best fits the student,” said Thompson.
The Open Enrollment period begins on June 1 and ends on September 1. During this time, “Student athletes transferring from any member or non-member school, may transfer to and participate in interscholastic athletics, at any level, without penalty,” states the language in the new policy.
The only stipulations are that the proper enrollment paperwork be completed and a contract deposit be made at the new school on or before September 1; the student must be attending fall classes on the first day of fall classes or by September 1; and that the student has satisfied all financial obligations at her previous school before participating in any interscholastic athletic games or practices.
The new policy continues to specifiy that student athletes are prohibited from representing more than one school in athletics, in the same academic year, regardless of competitive level and date of transfer. Because of the Open Enrollment Period, however, this point is virtually mute.
For its part, the MIAA considered an open enrollment period for student-athletes wishing to transfer from non-member schools to MIAA member schools. The MIAA Heads of School, however, voted down any change to its transfer policy, thus the rules adopted two years ago will remain in force.
Both Associations originally adopted the stricter transfer rule as part of several policy changes designed to bring the organizations in full compliance with the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s (MPSSAA) Standards of Competition.
According to Thompson, the IAAM’s new transfer policy does change that situation, as “all levels of compliance with the MPSSAA’s SOC remain the same.”
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