FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 29, 2005
Representative Assembly to consider 8 proposals to amend FHSAA bylaws
GAINESVILLE – The Ninth Representative Assembly of the Florida High School Athletic Association has eight proposals to consider when it meets Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 23-24, 2006, at the Robert W. Hughes FHSAA Building.
Among the proposals is a comprehensive revision to the Association's residence and transfer rules that has been submitted by Commissioner John A. Stewart. The proposed revision would establish a student-athlete's school of residence as the one in which he or she first enrolls upon initial entry into the ninth grade. A student who later transfers attendance to a different school during his or her four-year high school career would be restricted to eligibility on the sub-varsity level in the new school for one calendar year.
The rule would not apply to a student whose transfer occurs as a result of a joint physical relocation with his or her parents to a new address that makes it necessary for the student to attend a different school. The proposal outlines 10 exceptions to the rule that could be approved by the Commissioner through an application for waiver process.
"It was obvious to me from day one as Commissioner that the Association's residence and transfer rules as they currently exist are not working," Stewart said. "They provide little or no deterrent to students who might want to change schools for athletic reasons or who might be directly or indirectly recruited by a school for athletic purposes. They provide no protection for homegrown Florida student-athletes who are losing their positions on teams to students who transfer in as juniors and seniors from other schools, states or countries. Neither do they deter schools from assembling international all-star teams that then defeat teams comprised of homegrown Florida students to win Florida state championships."
Stewart continued: "The field of play has become seriously unleveled as a result of the current rules. Our member schools have complained and asked that we find a way of fixing this problem. So, we have spent the better part of the last year researching the problem, studying the rules of other state associations and developing this comprehensive proposal. Will it put an end to the problem? No, but it will go a long way toward slowing it down."
The 60-member Assembly, comprised of member school representatives elected or appointed to represent their peers as well as district school superintendents and district school board members, will convene at 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, for a public hearing on each of the proposals. Individuals wishing to speak for or against any proposal will be permitted to register to make a 3-minute presentation to the Assembly during this hearing.
The Assembly will reconvene at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, to debate and vote on each of the proposals. A two-thirds majority vote in the affirmative of all delegates present and voting is required to adopt a proposal.
Also to be considered by the Representative Assembly are:
• A proposal submitted by the Board of Directors to rename the office of Vice President of the Board of Directors to President-Elect, to establish qualifications for the office and to establish a line of succession to the office of President;
• A proposal submitted by the Board of Directors to repeal the "50-percent rule" governing interaction between coaches and their student-athletes during the off-season and direct the Board of Directors, instead, to establish guidelines governing such interaction;
• A proposal submitted by the Commissioner to reflect in the bylaws the provisions of s. 1006.15(3)(d), Florida Statutes, governing the participation by an individual student attending a charter school that does not sponsor interscholastic athletics;
• A proposal submitted by Tom Roszell, athletic director of Riverdale High School (Fort Myers), to prohibit students attending sports academies from participating in interscholastic athletics;
• A proposal submitted by Tom Roszell, athletic director of Riverdale High School (Fort Myers), to prohibit any student-athletes from being dismissed from school early to practice a sport;
• A proposal submitted by Jim Harwood, athletic director of Lake Worth Christian School (Boynton Beach), to prevent home-educated students from participating in interscholastic athletics in more than one school during their high school career without a corresponding change in residence; and
• A proposal submitted by Michael Colby, athletic director of Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School, to permit a student who becomes ineligible due to reaching the age of 19 years 9 months during a state championship series in a sport to retain his or her eligibility through his or her elimination from that state championship series.
All proposals have been submitted with effective dates of July 1, 2006, if adopted.
A copy of the
official notice containing the complete text of all eight proposals will be mailed to all member school representatives and other assembly delegates later this week.
About the FHSAA
Headquartered in Gainesville, the Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 720 middle and senior public and private high schools. More than 175,000 student-athletes annually participate in one or more of the FHSAA’s 28 championship sports programs. More information is available at www.fhsaa.org.
Contacts:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org
