CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The House of Delegates Education Committee could vote Wednesday on a bill that would repeal what lawmakers did in 2023 when they liberalized transfers for athletics in West Virginia high schools.
The bill, HB 4425, was presented to the committee Tuesday afternoon. Committee Chairman Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, is the lead sponsor.
The bill would reverse the provision allowing for students to transfer from one school to another without losing eligibility.
Statler said the rule change approved in 2023 has caused quite a stir in communities and schools.
“We know from parents and other people some like to allow students to transfer,” Statler said. “It does sometimes load up some teams and cause others to have some problems.”
Co-sponsor Del. Jeff Stephens, R-Marshall, explained the West Virginia Schools Secondary Athletic Committee would handle transfers the way they were done before the 2023 law was passed. Stephens said the WVSSAC would process waivers as they have in the past. Information showed the WVSSAC passes about 68 percent of athletic waiver requests, the education committee was told Tuesday.
“This would be a complete repeal to take it back to where it used to be,” Stephens said. “As it used to be, you could apply to the WVSSAC to get a waiver.”
The president of the West Virginia Behavioral Healthcare Providers Association, a former state senator, and the parent of high school athletes, Mark Drennan said 2023 change has made competition unsafe. Many games under the new policy have been disappointing, uncustomary blowouts, he said.
“Communities revolve around Friday nights,” Drennan said. “You hear about Friday night lights and being with your communities, but when the kids playing for those teams are not from those communities, people stop caring about it.”
Statler said HB 4425 puts the WVSSAC back in control of the transfer process.
“This puts it back to the way it was prior to any legislation,” Statler said. “Allowing transfers the way they were with the WCSSAC more involved in the system than the way it is now.”
The bill is advancing through the House as a “Rules Bill,” meaning it is exempt from the amendment process. The procedure meets the goal of clearly repealing the 2023 law and placing the process back into the hands of the WVSSAC, Statler said.
“Under the rule bill, sections and law amendments cannot be made, and that’s the way we elected to put that bill through the House,” Statler said.