CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A new West Virginia law will allow certain high school student-athletes to transfer schools without losing immediate athletic eligibility.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey approved the measure March 31, and it takes effect June 11.

Under the new law, a student may make a one-time transfer during the ninth or 10th grade and keep immediate eligibility if the transfer is completed on or before Sept. 1, according to the governor’s office press release.

The change also applies to Hope Scholarship students, homeschool students, microschool students, learning pod students and charter public school students.

The law further provides that if a student transfers after participating in a West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission sports season, the student remains eligible in all sports except that one sport, the release states. Transfers outside the rule may still seek a waiver from the WVSSAC board of directors.

The measure also allows a one-time transfer back to a student’s originally designated home school for students in ninth, 10th or 11th grade. If that return transfer is made by Sept. 1, the student keeps immediate eligibility. If it occurs later in the academic year, the student is ineligible for the rest of that school year and regains eligibility after the year ends, provided GPA requirements are met.

If the student already participated in a sport before returning, eligibility is restored in all sports except that sport.

“For many communities, high school sports are just as much about competition as they are about watching young athletes grow up together, representing their hometowns, and building pride in their schools,” Morrisey said in the release. “This framework preserves that tradition while recognizing the realities families face today.”