Improved, But Still Confusing CIF High School Sports Transfer Rules

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

Recently, the California Interscholastic Federation, aka CIF, the governing body for high school sports in California, softened their interdistrict transfer rules for the better.  It is still confusing, but students should benefit from this move.

Previously, there was a single transfer allowed without  a "valid change of residence" (a "valid change of residence" is moving house to house) prior to the tenth grade year.  Under the amended CIF Rule 207, a student may transfer without moving, and may be able to compete at a new school after a "sit out period." This can be during any year of high school, so long as this is their first transfer without a "valid change of residence."  

How this works is, say student A played junior varsity or varsity football at School X.  They thereafter transfer to School Y prior to the first football game that year without a "valid change of residence."  So long as this is the student's first such transfer, this football star can practice with the new team and may be able to play after an October first sit out period.  

If the same student moves to School Y after the first football game is played, the local CIF office will determine the student's sit out period individually.

Other restrictions also apply (not all listed here).  For example, a student may not compete in the same sport at two different schools during the same school year, and the transfer cannot be for discipline reasons.  So if Student A played football at School X that schoolyear, the student could not compete for the new
School Y football team that schoolyear.  Or, if a student moved due to an expulsion agreement, they also may be prohibited from competing at School Y.

For now, it should be easier for some students to switch schools and keep participating in their favorite sports.  For more information, see the CIF website here.  Go team!

Best,

Michelle Ball

Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Email: help@edlaw4students.com

Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdLaw4Students

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[please like my office on Facebook, subscribe via twitter and email, and check out my videos on Youtube!]

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

High School Sports Team Exclusion Reversed- A Great Client Testimonial About The Law Office of Michelle Ball

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

I owe a great debt of gratitude to all my clients who have trusted and supported the Law Office of Michelle Ball since 1995. As a student attorney, going against schools and colleges in all their various forms, it is not always easy for me or the families I represent.  I am grateful for all the families who have trusted me to get involved and so thankful when they take time to write a positive review of my office.  Check out this testimonial which tells the story of a dire situation involving a sports team exclusion.  I am very proud of the help I have provided and so glad this student is back on the team.  

"My husband and I decided to hire Michelle Ball after our daughter was unjustly cut from the high school varsity soccer team. We appealed the coach’s decision and met with a panel of six which included the assistant principal, the coach, the athletic director, as well as four others. They contended that our daughter had violated the CIF code of conduct by engaging in an altercation which resulted in a school suspension. We agreed that our daughter needed to be punished but that cutting her from the team was unjustly harsh and unwarranted! She had never been in trouble before and was a good student.  They then said that the principal would make the final decision. Days later, the principal called and said she upheld the panel’s decision to not let my daughter back on the team. The principal was not present during the appeal so she never heard what we had to say!!! My husband and I knew that going against the school by ourselves was a futile endeavor. We knew we had to fight and right the wrong that was being done! It was at that point we knew we needed legal representation. We contacted Michelle Ball for that precise reason. Michelle’s staff was always very professional and our questions were promptly and courteously answered. Through her expertise and knowledge we learned that the code of conduct the school so righteously indicated our daughter had violated was actually being violated by the school itself!! Michelle sent a letter to the school district superintendent detailing the school’s obdurate behavior which in itself bordered on gender discrimination. That same week, my husband and daughter were called by the school principal for a meeting. She apologized and told our daughter she was reinstated back on the varsity soccer team. We truly believe that had it not been for Michelle Ball, our daughter would’ve lost out on playing a sport she truly loves her final year of high school!!! Thank you Michelle for righting the wrong of a system that at times acts omnipotent!!!" -- M.A.T. 

Thanks M.A.T!  I truly appreciate the kind words.

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Email: help@edlaw4students.com

Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdLaw4Students

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Law-Office-of-Michelle-Ball/191273330901857

[please like my office on Facebook, subscribe via twitter and email, and check out my videos on Youtube!]

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

Video Evidence Means Schools Cannot Hide Student Abuse-- Video Of Coach Pulling My Client Aggressively By Hair Opens Door To Action

One of the top stories in my area (Sacramento, California) and apparently around the globe, is that of the female student whose coach attempted to lift her out of the water by her hair at a swim meet.  The student was thereafter told that she was kicked off the swim team and stripped of her swim badges, all because she and another student swam half of their portion of a freestyle swim race.  The word "overkill" seems in order.

This incident has now gone global with internet access to the media.  The man involved, Geoff Capell, has now reportedly quit his position as assistant swim coach and the head swim coach (his daughter) remains.  This is BIG news and such actions can cause BIG problems for school districts.

Meanwhile, despite the situation, when I heard from the family, they were getting nowhere as far as getting the student, and her teammate who was also kicked off, back on the team.  Luckily, our paths crossed and after my office got involved both girls were promptly reinstated and will be awarded their badges.  This is great news.  There is more to do, but I will leave that alone for now.

This matter illuminates a change in evidence in our society by which individuals and school officials may be held accountable- video evidence.  Because of the rise in phone video cameras and other devices allowing  people to record everything around us, conduct which previously would have been ignored or brushed off becomes international news overnight.  No longer can school officials hide from accusations which are a matter of "personal opinion," as the camera does not lie.  This is good for students who may be inappropriately touched or even assaulted by school officials.  If any of you remember Rodney King, he would not be THE Rodney King now were video cameras not rolling the day he was beaten by police officers.

Years ago, if a parent came to my office and said "the coach pulled my hair violently," I might have told them to file a personnel complaint and hoped for an accumulation of incidents over time to get rid of the coach.  Although parent complaints do help parents to solve problems, a personnel complaint alone in no way has the IMPACT that video can have.  Just look at the hair pulling by the former coach.  If the student weighed 120 pounds, that is how much weight was conceivably applied to her head and hair, let alone the yank by the coach which came as a shock to the student.  It was more painful then it looked.  Why do adults have to act SO poorly?!  

Luckily for my client, there is video involved that is now everywhere you look ("viral" as my husband likes to say) and which clearly shows the overstepping of boundaries in this matter. Without it, my client might still be off the team based on her perception of the tug versus the former coach's perception of the tug, as perception is subjective and can result in a never-ending "he said she said" feud.  Video, on the other hand, is objective and undeniable, and, unless tampered with, does not lie.

Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page [http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/]. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

Be Careful Not To Break the Transfer Rules of the California Interscholastic Federation or You May be Banned from Playing Certain Sports

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

Please note, CIF rules have changed and the below is based on rules prior to July 2012.  See my new blog here on the new "improved" rules.

Sports issues are plentiful in the school arena.  A frequent issue which arises involves the transfer rules under the California Interscholastic Federation, aka CIF.

CIF governs public school sports at the high school level and in some junior high schools as well.  They write various rules and bylaws which govern how students play, who can play, and other items.  The rules can be seen here http://www.cifstate.org/governance/constitution_bylaws/index.html.

One of the most frequent areas with which my clients have trouble involve the CIF transfer eligibility rules, Rules 206 and 207.  These are important as they can prohibit a student from playing certain sports if they change schools without meeting the CIF eligibility requirements.  The rules have changed over the years, but as of this writing, the rules basically state as follows:

• Residence for CIF purposes (sports) is established when a student initially enrolls in the ninth grade at a CIF high school/junior high school, or when they enter the tenth grade at a CIF high school when they previously attended a junior high with a ninth grade. 
• A student's residence is where the student's parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver lives with whom the student lived when they established residential eligibility. In other words, if they lived with their father and mother when they entered their freshman year at a high school, they must stay with them to have residential eligibility. 
• A student may transfer a single time prior to their third consecutive semester of attendance (usually the sophomore year) without a change of residence and still retain eligibility to play. 
• If a student transfers high school more than one time prior to their third consecutive semester without a valid change of residence, they are ineligible to compete in any varsity level sport in which they competed at any level (even if it was not at the varsity level) at the prior school, for one year.
• A VALID change of residence means that a student plus the entire immediate family with whom the student lived at the time of establishing residential eligibility moves with them, they abandon their prior home as a residence, and they take all belongings.
• If a parent (e.g. mother) with whom the student lived when eligibility was established remains in the home (e.g. and the other parent moves), that residence remains the student's residence for eligibility purposes.  If the student moves to a new residence (e.g. with the father), the student loses eligibility unless they receive a hardship waiver.

Additionally, there are many items which can still prohibit a student from playing at another school even if they change residences.  For example, the move cannot be for discipline reasons nor can a move be athletically motivated.

Here is a handbook from CIF on these rules as there has been a lot of confusion and frustration with these rules:  http://www.cifstate.org/governance/transfer_eligibility/pdf/Parent%20Handbook%20%20I.PDF

These are very very important rules for parents to be aware of if they are considering a transfer as a student who e.g. played basketball at the prior school won't be able to play basketball at the new school unless the family physically moves, this was the first transfer prior to the third semester, or a CIF hardship waiver is obtained.  This can devastate scholarship hopes if a student loses their eligibility to play due to a move without a proper change of residence.

If your child is blocked from playing, they may return to their prior school (where they were eligible to play) to play sports, may request a hardship waiver, or may file a request for a CIF hearing if their hardship waiver is denied.  A panel should be convened to hear the matter.

Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page [http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/]. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.