West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 127 - Secondary School Activities Commission › Title 127 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA SECONDARY SCHOOL ACTIVITIES COMMISSION › Series 127-02 - Athletics, Provisions Governing Eligibility › Section 127-2-7 - Residence-Transfer

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
7.1. Part A -
				Residence - This residence rule applies to all students enrolled in grades 6-12
				in all member schools.
7.1.a. A student shall
				be eligible in the school located in the attendance zone in which the student's
				parents reside. Public secondary school attendance zones shall be established
				by official action by each county board of education. The attendance zones of a
				private/parochial member school shall be identical with the attendance zone of
				the public school in which the private/parochial member school is located. In
				the event of overlapping attendance zones, a student shall be eligible at the
				school in which the student first chooses to enroll upon entering the
				9th grade.
7.1.b. When a town or city is located in two
				counties and only one public secondary school is located in the town or city,
				students living in the town or city may attend this secondary school if
				mutually agreed upon by the two county boards of education and approved by the
				Board of Directors. A student shall be eligible at the school in which the
				student first chooses to enroll upon entering 9th
				grade.
7.1.c. A student who is in
				the care of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR)
				shall be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics as a member of
				the athletic teams of the secondary school in the zone in which the WVDHHR
				places the student in a home, provided the student is otherwise
				eligible.
7.1.d. A student entering
				a school as an "unaccompanied youth" under the conditions of the federal
				McKinney-Vento Act may be granted eligibility for interscholastic competition
				by the Board of Directors in accordance with §
										127-2-1.
7.1.e. A student may be eligible outside the
				specified zone of attendance if the student has been in attendance in that zone
				the immediately preceding year (365 days). There can be no change of residence
				involving change of attendance zone during the immediately preceding year (365
				days).
7.1.f. A student whose
				parents have resided in the school zone for a minimum of one academic year,
				during which the student has been in attendance for a minimum of one academic
				year, and whose parents make a bona fide change of residence to a new school
				zone during the academic year may:
7.1.f.1.
				Retain eligibility as long as the student retains continuous enrollment and
				attendance, or;
7.1.f.2. Transfer
				at time of change of residence to the school in the attendance zone in which
				the parents are now residing and be eligible in that school, or;
7.1.f.3. Transfer at any time prior to the
				start of the next academic year to the school in the attendance zone in which
				the student's parents are residing and be eligible for interscholastic
				activities at the receiving school.
7.1.f.4. A student who has started
				participation in a sport, which would include practice or contest, that the
				student was participating in at the former school, may not participate in that
				sport for that sport season at the WVSSAC member school to which they
				transferred.
7.1.g. A
				student whose parents have resided in the school zone for less than one
				academic year, during which the student has been in attendance for less than
				one academic year, and whose parents make a bona fide change of residence to a
				new school zone during the school term may:
7.1.g.1. Retain eligibility for the balance
				of the academic year, provided the student retains continuous enrollment and
				attendance; or
7.1.g.2. Transfer at
				time of change of residence to the school in the attendance zone in which the
				parents are now residing and be eligible in that school; or
7.1.g.3. If a student chooses to remain
				enrolled at the school outside the attendance zone in which the student's
				parents reside at the conclusion of the academic year the student will be
				ineligible for the next academic year.
7.1.h. Foreign exchange students, attending a
				member school under the auspices of a Council on Standards for International
				Educational Travel (CSIET) student exchange program, shall be considered
				eligible regarding residence for a maximum period of one calendar year. A
				foreign exchange student may not be a graduate of the secondary school of the
				home country and must maintain eligibility in a member school. A foreign
				exchange program must assign students to schools by a method which ensures that
				no student, school, or other interested party may influence the assignment for
				athletic purposes.
7.1.i. A student
				returning from an approved foreign exchange program may resume interscholastic
				competition in the member school in which the student was enrolled at the point
				of interruption, provided the student does not fulfill graduation requirements
				while participating in the exchange program and provided the student meets all
				requirements relative to age and semesters of eligibility.
7.1.j. Any international student enrolling in
				a member school who does not meet the criteria of §
										127-2-7.1.h shall only be
				eligible to participate at the junior varsity level in any sport for the
				duration of the time the student is enrolled.