- May 8, 2024
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A controversial athletics bill that decreases the state’s control of transfer student-athletes passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate earlier this month.
House Bill 1403 no longer requires high school athletes who transfer to prove they weren’t recruited before they can play for their new school. The measure passed through the House by a 78-34 vote. It then passed in the Senate by a 21-18 margin. It will take effect July 1.
This bill will negatively impact Flagler County’s two high schools, Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas.
As it stands now, before the bill takes effect, students who wish to transfer between FPC and Matanzas must get an academic waiver. The transfer is granted solely for academic reasons, not athletic. If approved and if the student plays sports, the student is ineligible for the first academic year. For example, if a student transfers after freshman year from FPC to Matanzas, the student couldn’t play sports at Matanzas until junior year.
But with the new state law, student-athletes won’t have to wait a year to play. They will immediately be eligible.
Since Matanzas has been open for the past seven years, there haven’t been many transfer issues, said Ken Seybold, athletics director at Matanzas. But he indicated that the bill is opposed by many administrators, including himself.
And for good reason. The change takes away from the purity of sports in public schools. If a student wants to pick a high school based on athletics, the student should go to a private school or a specialty academy.
High school sports should be a level playing field. If a student is zoned for a particular school, he or she should attend it unless there are compelling academic reasons.
Head injuries
Another bill that was passed through the House of Representatives requires student-athletes to be immediately removed from a game or practice following a head injury. They must be cleared by a doctor to return.
That’s in line with local policies. Matanzas and FPC have been erring on the side of caution with head injuries for several years. Kudos to Flagler’s high schools for that.
