The transfer rule has come under new scrutiny after the powerhouse Wayne Hills High football team was disqualified from the playoffs and then allowed back in.
A new effort to revamp the state’s much-maligned transfer rule appears to be taking shape.
Mike Zapicchi, co-chair of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s special public/non-public committee, said Thursday the group has been debating the transfer issue for months and will likely produce a formal proposal to change the rule at their Nov. 29 meeting.
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Zapicchi could not say what the proposal will look like, but outlined three possibilities: Somehow strengthening the current rule that requires athletes who switch schools without a bona fide change of residence to sit out 30 days; allowing athletes to transfer schools once freely and without penalty; or requiring all athletes who transfer — regardless of circumstances — to sit out 30 days.
“There are any number of stories about people looking at our rules and either not applying them properly or looking to use them to their advantages,” Zapicchi said. “Students right now go to different school districts for a variety of reasons. We’re saying as the state athletic association that there has to be some kind of regulation on kids coming and going for athletic reasons.”
The transfer rule has come under new scrutiny the past 10 days after the powerhouse Wayne Hills High football team was disqualified from the playoffs by the NJSIAA and then allowed back into the postseason after a special hearing over the eligibility status of three players.
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The rule also was criticized this spring when No. 1-ranked Major League Baseball prospect Jason Groome of Barnegat High was ruled ineligible after transferring back to his neighborhood school from a Florida boarding school, which did not amount to a bona fide change of residence because he did not move with his parents.
The special committee already produced one proposal to change the transfer rule last year, but it was resoundingly voted down, 244-99. That proposal sought to strengthen the rule to include a mandatory 30-day sitting out period and state tournament ban for all varsity athletes who transfer schools, except those who move from a closed-enrollment school to another closed-enrollment school with a bona fide change of address.
The concept was “too complicated,” according to Zapicchi.
He added the transfer issue is one of the most hotly debated topics nationally, saying no state athletic association has appeared to come up with a solution that pleases everyone.
“Every state fights about it,” he said. “There isn’t anybody who’s really satisfied. Just about every state is wrestling with the idea of the new reality of kids changing schools for athletic reasons.”
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Florida and Texas have open policies that allow athletes to transfer without penalty, while Arizona recently passed a rule that says in-state transfers before a season across all levels have to sit out 50 percent of the season, regardless of a change of domicile. Meanwhile, Arizona athletes who transfer during a season must sit out a calendar year.
Zapicchi said 24 state athletic associations across the country have one-year sitting out periods for transfers.
If the special committee produces a proposal at the end of the month, it likely would be brought to a vote of the NJSIAA Executive Committee in March. If passed, it would move to a vote of the general membership in December of 2017, with the earliest possible implementation being September of 2018.
Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.