A bill set to be considered by the Florida Senate this week would force fundamental changes on the Florida High School Athletic Association and could ultimately lead to the association’s demise.
If passed, the legislation would dramatically affect student-athlete eligibility rules by ensuring that students who transfer during the school year would remain eligible for athletics in their new school so long as the transfer occurs before the start of practice for their particular sport. That specific provision has sparked fears among some athletic directors and FHSAA officials, who believe the system could be exploited to allow students to be recruited by schools on the basis of athletics.
“Kids should not be changing schools for athletic reasons,” FHSAA Executive Director Roger Dearing said, according to .