FLORIDA – A new Florida law aimed at tightening student-athlete transfer rules is drawing praise from some high school coaches and athletic leaders who say the changes could help restore fairness and stability in high school sports.
The legislation, signed Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is part of a broader “coaches bill” that also addresses coach compensation. But one of the most significant changes focuses on student-athlete transfers and recruiting practices that critics say have created competitive imbalances across the state.
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Florida High School Athletic Association Executive Director Craig Damon has described the transfer issue as one of the biggest challenges facing high school athletics, saying the state’s controlled open enrollment law has been exploited for athletic purposes.
Under current rules, non-traditional students, including homeschool, virtual school and charter school students, have been allowed broad flexibility to transfer and participate in sports at different schools.
Damon has publicly supported school choice but said some parents and students have taken advantage of the system by repeatedly switching schools for athletics.
Earlier this year, Damon told lawmakers about a football player who changed teams during the playoffs after his original team was eliminated, an example he said highlighted the need for stricter oversight.
The new law limits students from playing sports for multiple schools during the same school year and places new restrictions on transfers involving home education, charter schools, private schools, Florida Virtual School, alternative schools and traditional public schools.
Students will generally be limited to participating in sports at one school each year unless they meet certain exceptions, including military relocation, court-ordered custody changes or foster care placement. Other exceptions would require approval from the executive director of the governing body overseeing high school athletics.
Andrew Jackson High School head football coach Bobby Ramsay said he believes the law could help create more balance among programs.
“I think you can help create more competitive balance because right now there’s some pretty strong competitive imbalance,” Ramsay said.
Ramsay said athletically motivated transfers do happen, though he believes Duval County has not seen the same level of transfer activity as some other areas of the state.
“I think it will maybe curb the serial transfer,” Ramsay said. “Or certainly, like, I can play football at one school, basketball at another. Some of those things I think are pretty silly.”
Under the new law, students who live in one county but play high school sports in another county will no longer be allowed to remain with those programs in many cases.
Supporters of the legislation argue the changes are needed to reduce recruiting and prevent schools from stockpiling talent.
Dr. Andrew Ramjit, executive director of the Florida Coaches Coalition, said recruiting had become widespread in some areas.
“Coaches were openly recruiting other students from different counties, from different schools within the same county,” Ramjit said. “It got out of control.”
Ramjit said parents should understand the law is intended to discourage transfers made solely for athletics.
“If a student is transferring from an A school to a C school, it’s not the right thing to do,” Ramjit said. “I think our legislators and the governor, they paid attention to the issues, and you’re going to see a whole lot less of transferring happening.”
The law also includes stricter enforcement measures. Athletic directors will now be expected to verify where non-traditional student-athletes actually live amid concerns some athletes have used addresses that do not match their true residence.
The FHSAA has said it plans to closely monitor those situations, and some athletic directors say schools caught using falsified addresses could face significant fines and lengthy suspensions.