Section 7. Transfers
4-7-1 The transfer bylaws apply to all students enrolled in grades 9-12 who are transferring high
schools whether the schools are public or non-public, member or non-member or whether the
high schools are within the same school system or district.
4-7-2 If a student transfers after the fifth day of the student’s ninth grade year or after having established
eligibility prior to the start of school by playing in a contest (scrimmage, preview or
regular season/tournament contest), the student will be ineligible for one year from the date
of enrollment in the school to which the student transferred. A student is considered to have
transferred whenever enrollment is changed from one school to another school, or whenever
the student participates in a practice, scrimmage or contest with a school-sponsored squad of a
school in which the student has not been enrolled. Subject to the specific provisions of this Section
7 – Transfer – the following exceptions to the general transfer bylaw may apply:
EXCEPTION 1 – If a student’s transfer is the result of a bona fide legal change of residence by
the parents or legal guardians of the student from one public school district in Ohio to another
public school district in Ohio, the Commissioner’s Office may declare the student eligible insofar
as the transfer bylaw is concerned provided:
a) the student is enrolled in the new public school district of residence of the parents’/legal
guardians’ new residence or any non-public school; and
b) in the case of an “intact” family, both parents have made the bona fide legal change of residence,
and the former residence has been completely abandoned by the parents/legal custodians.
In the case of a family in which the parents’ marriage has been legally terminated or the parents
were never married, the custodial parent has made a bona fide legal change of residence and the
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former residence of the custodial parent has been completely abandoned; and
c) the parents of the student complete the notarized Affidavit of Bona Fide Change of Legal
Residence as thoroughly, accurately and honestly as possible; and
d) an administrator from the school to which the student is transferring affirms to the Commissioner’s
Office that she/he has independently verified all of the information/affirmations set forth
in the Affidavit of Bona Fide Change of Legal Residence; and
e) the Commissioner’s Office is satisfied that the purported change of residence was not accomplished
in order to circumvent this Transfer Bylaw but rather the change of residence was the
event that created the need to transfer enrollment for the student-athlete.
The student is ineligible until ruled eligible by the Commissioner’s Office. The declaration
of eligibility shall commence with the date of the letter ruling from the Commissioner’s Office
and requires the maintenance of the bona fide residence for one calendar year from the date of
that ruling. Furthermore, the Commissioner’s Office is authorized to rescind any declarations of
eligibility granted under this exception and declare the student ineligible for up to one year from
the date of such rescission in the event the Commissioner’s Office learns of any falsification of
any information given in the Affidavit of Bona Fide Change of Legal Residence or other documents
submitted in the approval process, or if the parents fail to maintain the new residence for
one (1) year from the date of the eligibility ruling.
Parents making a bona fide legal change of residence into the state of Ohio for the first time
may enroll the student in any school that accepts that student; however, these parents must also
complete and submit the Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence. That student may be eligible insofar
as transfer is concerned in accordance with this bylaw upon receipt of the completed and accurate
Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence which indicates that both parents have moved into Ohio.
Note 1: These forms can be found at
http://www.ohsaa.org/eligibility/forms/AffidavitBonaFideResidence.
pdf. Note 2: See the definition of a bona fide residence in Bylaw 4-6-1.
EXCEPTION 2 - If the student is the ward of a court-appointed guardian, and there is a subsequent
change in that guardian that results in a change of school district, the student may be eligible in
the district of residence of the new guardian or at any non-public school provided the student lives
with the guardian for a minimum of one year and provided the Commissioners’ Office is satisfied
that the purported change of custody was not accomplished in order to circumvent this Transfer
Bylaw but rather the change of custody was the event that created the need to transfer enrollment
for the student-athlete. Likewise, if the student is the child of parents who were never married or
have had their marriage terminated and there is a court ordered change of custody, the student
may be eligible in the district of residence of the new custodial parent or at any nonpublic school
provided the student lives with the new custodial parent for a minimum of one year and provided
the Commissioners’ Office is satisfied that the purported change of custody was not accomplished
in order to circumvent this Transfer Bylaw but rather the change of custody was the event that
created the need to transfer enrollment for the student-athlete. For purposes of this exception, the
term “parent” means the biological or adoptive parents of the student or, as the case may be, the
person to whom parenting rights and responsibilities have been allocated pursuant to court order.
In the event a student has been temporarily or permanently removed from the home, “parent”
means the person or government agency with legal or permanent custody. In such a case, the
student shall be eligible in the district of residence of the government agency/foster placement
with legal or permanent custody or at any non-public school provided the student lives in that
placement for a minimum of one year. If the student is subsequently removed from government
agency and legal custody is placed back with the parents prior to the expiration of one year,
the student may, with the permission of the placement agency/court and the agreement of the
member school, remain enrolled in the school where the student was placed OR may return to
the district of residence of the parents and apply for eligibility under this exception.
When a change of residential parent or legal custodian results in a change of school
district, the student is ineligible until ruled eligible by the Commissioner’s office.
EXCEPTION 3 — If, and only if, either one of the parents in a Shared Parenting Plan, notwithstanding
any provisions therein to the contrary, makes a bona fide legal change of residence
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from one public school district into another public school district, and such move has taken
place within the last calendar year, the student shall be immediately eligible insofar as transfer is
concerned in the public school located in the residential district of either parent or any nonpublic
school.
EXCEPTION 4 — If the high school, which is either the high school in a single high school
public school district or a non-public high school, in which the student is enrolled closes or
discontinues its high school program after grade nine, the student may enroll in any school and
be immediately eligible insofar as transfer is concerned.
EXCEPTION 5 — If the bona fide residence of the student’s parents is annexed to a different
school district or consolidated within a school district, the student may be ruled eligible upon
transfer to a school in the annexed or consolidated district subject to modification by formal action
by the Boards of Education concerned. A copy of such action by Boards of Education must
be on file in the Association office before the Commissioner’s office can rule the student eligible.
EXCEPTION 6 —A student shall be entitled to one transfer into a public high school located in
the public school district within which the student’s parent residence is located. Note 1: Use of this
exception requires the submission of the Exception Six Form to document the transfer as set forth
in the exception. The form can be found at
www.ohsaa.org. Note 2: Exception six does not apply
to transfers to and from high schools within a multiple high school district/system. Please see Bylaws
4-7-4, 4-7-6 and 4-7-7 for the transfer rules which apply to intra-district or system transfers.
EXCEPTION 7 — A student may return to non-public education by transferring from the public
high school located in the district of residence of the parents to a non-public high school and
have her/his eligibility restored at the discretion of the Commissioner’s office provided the following
conditions have been met:
1. That the transfer from the non-public high school to the public high school was not done for
athletic reasons but for purely academic reasons or family circumstances beyond the control
of the student and/or his/her parents; and
2. The student had been continuously enrolled in the same system of non-public education
(e.g., Catholic Conference of Ohio, Ohio Association of Independent Schools, Association
of Christian School International or other category as denoted by the State Department of
Education) beginning in the 6th grade and continuing thereafter through and including the
eighth grade and either:
a) The student began grade nine in a high school within the same non-public system and
shall transfer back to that same non-public high school or
b) The student began grade nine in the public school located in the residential district of the
parents and the transfer back to a high school within the same non-public school system
in which the student was enrolled from grades 6-8 shall occur prior to the start of the
student’s tenth grade year.
3. The student has been ruled eligible by the Commissioner’s office.
EXCEPTION 8 — A student who does not live in the same school district as parents or legal
guardian and who is financially self-supporting may be ruled eligible upon approval of the Commissioner
at a school in the district where the student resides. The Commissioner is empowered
to establish requirements for the student to be determined to be self-supporting. These requirements
shall be established for each school year by May 15th of the preceding year. Self-support
documentation must be submitted for approval every 30 days. The student is ineligible until
ruled eligible by the Commissioner. Note: Living with and/or being employed by a relative does
not qualify for self-support under this exception.
EXCEPTION 9 — A student transferred to the State School for the Blind or State School for the
Deaf shall be eligible upon enrollment.
EXCEPTION 10 —The Commissioner shall have the discretionary power to waive the residence
requirements in only those cases of students whose parents live outside the school district
and whose contracted domicile is not available for their habitation. The students are ineligible
until ruled eligible by the Commissioner.
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EXCEPTION 11 — During the period of time, and only if, a school district ceases to sponsor
its entire interscholastic athletic programs, a student from that district may transfer to any other
school district/system and have his/her eligibility restored upon application to the Commissioner’s
office. Furthermore, if the district from which such student transferred resumes with its
sponsorship of interscholastic programs and the student wishes to transfer back to the district
from which he/she transferred, he/she may do so and have his/her eligibility restored in accordance
with Exception 6 of Bylaw 4-7-2, and not withstanding Bylaw 4-7-3, provided the transfer
back occurs prior to the start of the next school year following the school year in which resumption
of sponsorship of interscholastic programs occurred.
In consideration of all applications for the restoration of eligibility pursuant to this Exception,
the Commissioner’s office shall give due consideration to all factors relating to the transfer and
particularly the timing of the transfer in relation to the effective date on which sponsorship of
interscholastic athletics ceases and/or resumes.
No student transferring under this provision shall be eligible until declared so by the Commissioner’s
office.
EXCEPTION 12 - A student returning from a domestic exchange program with whom the member
school has partnered may be declared eligible insofar as the transfer bylaw is concerned if
all the following conditions have been met:
a) The domestic exchange program exists primarily for academic and educational learning
experiences; and
b) The student receives credits that apply towards the student’s graduation in the Ohio member
school for the student’s work in this domestic exchange program; and
c) In the event the student did participate in interscholastic athletics while enrolled in this
domestic exchange program, the student’s athletic participation was secondary to his/her
academic and educational reasons for participation in this program; and
d) The domestic exchange program has, in its curriculum guide, a structured beginning and end
to the program itself; and.
e) The student shall be ineligible until declared eligible by the Commissioner’s office upon
submission of the designated OHSAA approval form.
4-7-3 If a transfer takes place during the sport season in which the student has participated in a regular
season interscholastic contest in a sport, the student is ineligible in that sport for the remainder
of that sport’s season in the school into which the student has transferred. A student may
not use any of the exceptions to Bylaw 4-7-2 or 4-7-4 to circumvent this bylaw except if the
parents make a bona fide move into a new public school district as referenced in Exception 1
of Bylaw 4-7-2 AND the school building into which the student transfers is more than 50 miles
from the school building from which the student transfers as determined by
www.mapquest.
com, or such other navigational system as adopted by the Board of Directors at its August meeting,
using the most direct route. For purposes of this bylaw, “sport season” shall be determined
by the sports regulations for that sport, beginning with the first date on which coaching may
begin and concluding on the date when the season ends.
4-7-4 The superintendent or person delegated by the superintendent of either a non-public or public
school system may transfer students within the system without jeopardizing their eligibility only
in the following circumstances:
1) The parent(s) or legal custodian of the student have made a bona fide move from one attendance
zone into a new attendance zone within the school district and such move entitles the
student to attend another district high school OR
2) There has been a court-ordered change of legal custody from one individual to another individual
living within a new attendance zone within the school district and the student shall
live with the new custodian in the new attendance zone OR
3) The school closes or there was a mistake made in the student’s initial placement
4) The student is a child with a disability whose program as prescribed by the student’s I.E.P.
has been changed to another high school
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5) The student transfers pursuant to state or federal statutes addressing unsafe schools or academically
poor performing schools, and the student can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
superintendent that the transfer is for purely academic reasons and not athletic reasons.
Such transfers are eligible only after approval by the Commissioner’s office.
4-7-5 Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 4-7-2 and 4-7-4, if a student transfers pursuant to
state or federal statutes addressing unsafe schools or academically poor performing schools, and
the student can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commissioner’s office that the transfer is
for purely academic reasons and not athletic reasons, the Commissioner’s office may declare
such transferring student eligible upon application to the Commissioner’s office. The student
is not eligible until declared eligible by the Commissioner’s office. Note: The student shall be
entitled to one transfer only under the provisions set forth in this bylaw.
4-7-6 If a student transfers to a high school within the same public school district within which the
school from where the student transferred is a part, the student may have his/her eligibility restored
by the Commissioner’s office provided the following conditions have been met:
1) The student has been reassigned to the high school by the school district as a result of redistricting
or a specific change of program; and
2) The transfer takes place prior to the beginning of the school year; and
3) The District petitions the Commissioner’s office for the restoration of eligibility for the student
no later than 15 school days after the beginning of the school year; and
4) The student is ineligible until ruled eligible by the Commissioner’s office.
4-7-7 If a student transfers to a high school located within the jurisdiction of a non-public multiple
high school system (e.g., Catholic Conference of Ohio, Ohio Association of Independent
Schools, Association of Christian Schools International or other category as denoted by the State
Department of Education) from another high school within that same system, the student may
have his/her eligibility restored by the Commissioner’s office provided the following conditions
have been met:
1) The student has been reassigned to the high school by the superintendent or other administrative
authority of that school system as a result of a specific change of academic program;
or a material change in economic circumstances so as to create a hardship; or a material
change in transportation circumstances so as to create a hardship; and
2) The transfer takes place prior to the beginning of the school year; and
3) The superintendent or other administrative authority of the system petitions the Commissioner’s
office for the restoration of eligibility for the student verifying in detail the specific
reason for the transfer in accordance with item #1 and certifying that the transfer is not for
athletic reasons no later than 15 school days after the beginning of the school year; and
4) The student is ineligible until ruled eligible by the Commissioner’s office.
4-7-8 In order for a transfer student to be eligible for OHSAA tournament competition at a school, the
student’s name must be listed on the eligibility certificate submitted at the tournament level in
the sport.
