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1998 SESSION

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SB 424 Certain eligibility for students in public schools.

Introduced by: Charles J. Colgan | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Certain eligibility for students in public schools. Relates to eligibility of transfer students to participate in interscholastic activities. This bill modifies the present statute defining those students who are deemed to reside in the school division for purposes of free education and sets out specific interscholastic sports eligibility for certain transfer students who are living in a school's service area with a person in loco parentis for reasons beyond the student's control. No student who has been abandoned by his parents who has neither a guardian nor any other person with legal custody, and who transfers from any public or private high school to a public high school while living with a person in loco parentis because of circumstances beyond such student's control will be required to attend a school to which he transfers for a full semester or to obtain a waiver of any enrollment rule to be eligible to participate in interscholastic sports as a member of a school squad or team within the school to which such student transfers.

No school or student will be (i) declared ineligible for participation in interscholastic sports or (ii) disciplined, including any forfeiture of winning competitions or games, because of the participation of a transfer student who has been abandoned by his parents and has neither a guardian nor any other person with legal custody and who is living, not solely for educational purposes, with a person in loco parentis who actually resides in the district served by the school to which such student transferred.

Any nonprofit corporation founded in Virginia in 1913 to organize and govern interscholastic activities among the public high schools (the Virginia High School League) must develop, implement, and enforce a compassionate exception to its transfer and enrollment rules. Such compassionate exception must provide eligibility for participation in interscholastic sports by any transfer student who because of circumstances beyond such student's control is living with a person in loco parentis who actually resides in the district served by the school to which such student has transferred.

Further, such nonprofit corporation must establish and implement an appeals process which terminates in a final appeal to its legislative council. Any party aggrieved by a decision at a lower level of such nonprofit corporation's appeal process may request and must receive a hearing before such legislative council. This measure is identical to HB 1316.


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