238.0  RESIDENCE AND TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS

238.1      DEFINITIONS:

a.    Change of Residence - A
change of residence under this rule shall consist of the moving of all
household properties to the new address and the parents and student actually
living there; a second family residence shall not meet the requirements of this
standard.

b.    District - All member
schools, both public and nonpublic, shall establish defined geographical
attendance districts for athletic eligibility purposes.  The boundary for a nonpublic school
attendance district shall be established by the school’s governing board
and shall include an area not to exceed a twenty-five mile radius measured from
the school principal’s office.
A current map showing the nonpublic school’s attendance district
boundary shall be on file in the MSHSAA Office.  Any subsequent change in the nonpublic
school’s attendance boundary must be reported to the MSHSAA Office no
later than February 1 preceding the school year the
change is to become effective since any change will be used in determining the
eligibility of transfer students.
The Missouri School for the Blind and the Missouri School
of the Deaf shall be exempt from establishing a defined geographic attendance
district for athletic eligibility purposes.

c.     Parents - The term
parents shall mean the student’s:
1) natural parents; 2) adoptive parents; 3) foster parents, if the
student is placed in a foster home after becoming a ward of the court; 4)
Custodial parent; if parents are divorced; 5) legal guardian but only in a case
where neither parent is living or legally competent; or 6) a family with whom a
student has been living continuously for at least 365 days.

d.    Residence - Residence shall
be defined as the place where the student’s parents have established
their permanent home.  This means
that the family regularly eats and sleeps in a specific place of lodging.  It is a place where the student and
his/her parents are habitually present and to which when departing, they intend
to return.

e.    Restricted Eligibility
- A transfer student who is granted restricted eligibility may participate in
designated sports only at the subvarsity level of
competition until the student has been in continuous attendance at the new
school for 365 days from the date of enrollment.

238.2      RESIDENCE
REQUIREMENTS--A junior or senior high school student may be eligible
at the public or nonpublic school located in the district in which the
student’s parents (as defined in By-Law 238.1-c above) reside.  In the case of a public multiple school
district, a student may be eligible at the school designated for the student to
attend by the board of education.  A
student may also meet eligibility Residence Standards under the following
provisions:

a.    A student who is enrolled in
a special learning center or magnet school may be eligible to represent the
public school serving the district or attendance area of the parents’
residency in any sport not sponsored by the school he/she attends.

b.    The residence standards shall
be waived 365 days from the date a student enrolls in a member school provided
enrollment in that member school has been continuous.

238.3      TRANSFER OF
ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS--The following standards are for the
purpose of assuring fairness to all students.

a.    Students who transfer
schools are ineligible for 365 days unless their cases meet the standards under
the EXCEPTIONS THAT FOLLOW:

1.     CORRESPONDING
CHANGE OF RESIDENCE OF PARENTS--If there is a corresponding change of
residence of parents, from the attendance district of the
school where a student has been enrolled to the new
district, the student may be eligible as soon as certified in accord with
By-Law 234.  For the purpose of this
provision, if the districts served by the two schools overlap, the term
“new district” shall mean a district in which the original
residence was not located.  The
purpose of this section shall be to avoid any loss of eligibility when parents
transfer residence to a new district for other than athletic reasons.  Note:  If a student from a broken home moves
from the residence of one parent to that of the other parent and transfers
schools, eligibility must be considered under the Hardship Transfer Standard.

(a)   This change of residence must be simultaneous
with the transfer of enrollment except when for educational reasons and
awaiting occupancy of a new residence, a request is made to the MSHSAA Office
to permit the student to enroll at a new school at the beginning of a new year
or semester and to become eligible as of the date the family actually transfers
residence, such request shall be granted.

(b)   If parents transfer to a new
district, the student, to retain eligibility without establishing a 365 days
period of attendance, must transfer his/her enrollment simultaneously with the
transfer of residence of parents, or no later than the beginning of the next
school year.

2.     TRANSFER AT
PROMOTION--A student may be eligible immediately at the school of
his/her choice upon first entering when:

(a)   The student is promoted from the
sixth grade to the seventh grade.

(b)
The student is promoted from the eighth grade to the ninth grade, provided the
student is eligible in all other respects.

(c) The
student completes the highest grade in an elementary school that is not a part
of a system supporting a high school (K-8), provided the student is eligible in
all other respects.

3.     TRANSFER FROM A
NONMEMBER SCHOOL--A student is eligible upon his/her first transfer from a
nonmember school to an MSHSAA member school where he/she meets the Residence
Standards contained in By-Law 238.2 provided the transfer does not involve
undue influence and is not for athletic reasons.  Editor’s Note:  A nonmember school is defined as one
which is not a member of the MSHSAA or, if it is located in another state, is
not a member of that state’s high school activities association.

4.     TRANSFER FROM
UNACCREDITED PUBLIC SCHOOL--A student may be eligible upon his or her first
transfer from an unaccredited public school to an accredited public school
where the student’s tuition is required by state law to be paid by the
home district provided the transfer does not involve undue influence and is not
for athletic reasons.  Likewise, a
student may be eligible upon his/her first transfer back to his/her home school
if the school regains accreditation provided:

(a)   the
student transfers within 365 days of accreditation being regained and

(b)   the
transfer does not involve undue influence and is not for athletic reasons.

5.     SPECIAL TRANSFERS--

(a)   Any transfer within any school
system ordered by the board of education or governing body of a nonpublic
school system, that is not for athletic reasons, shall
be considered as meeting the standards of transfer of residence.  An assignment by the Commissioner of
Education in accord with provisions contained in RSMo
167.121 shall meet this requirement.

(b)   In case of reorganization,
consolidation, or annexation of school districts, a student may be considered
eligible at the designated school of the enlarged district immediately.

(c)   If a school is discontinued or
closed to any group of students for reasons other than (b) above, its students
may be eligible immediately in the school of their choice provided the
standards of residence above are met.

6.     BOARDING SCHOOLS--A
student who transfers for the first time to a boarding school*, provided the
school is not a specialized athletic/academy boarding school, and lives in the
dormitory of the school may be eligible as soon as certified in accord with
By-Law 234.  Likewise, a student who
has been attending a boarding school, provided it is not a specialized
athletic/academy boarding school, and living in its dormitory under this
provision may be eligible upon the student’s first transfer to a school
at which he/she meets the residence standards contained under By-Law 238.2
provided the transfer does not involve undue influence and is not for athletic
reasons.  *For purposes of this
standard, a boarding school is defined as a school which provides a residential
community setting for students in which a full range of boarding services are
provided (dormitory counselors, 24 hours a day supervision, a social program, 3
meals a day, etc).

7.     TRANSFER FROM APPROVED
FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROGRAM -- A student who transfers for the first time from a
foreign exchange program that is listed on the Advisory List of International
Educational Travel and Exchange Programs published by the Council on Standards
for International Educational Travel shall have unrestricted eligibility under
the following conditions.

(a)   The transfer shall occur at the
semester.

(b)   The student shall return to the
previous high school attended prior to participation in the exchange program

(c)   The student must meet the residence
requirement in By-Law 238.2-d.

(d)   The student shall meet all
essential eligibility requirements.

(e)   The transfer shall not be a result
of undue influence or for athletic reasons.

8.     HARDSHIP--The Board of
Directors may grant eligibility to a transfer student who does not meet the
Transfer Standards when sufficient evidence is provided to show that it was
necessary for the student to transfer because of unforeseen, unavoidable, or unusual
circumstances; including, but not limited to, broken home conditions, death of
parents or guardian, and abandonment and provided the transfer was not for
athletic reasons and there was no undue influence.  Hardship requests for students in
the seventh and eighth grades will be granted if the Principals of both the
sending and receiving schools approve the request and indicate that they do not
believe that the transfer was made for athletic reasons or due to undue
influence.  A student who is granted eligibility
under this provision shall be eligible upon notification by the Executive
Director.

9.     WAIVER--Even though a
student transfers schools under circumstances which do not meet the terms of
the Transfer of Enrollment Standards, he/she still may be granted eligibility
to participate in interscholastic athletics as hereinafter restricted if the
student qualifies under the following terms and conditions:  A student whose name has been included
on a school eligibility roster at any level (varsity, junior varsity,
freshman, junior high, etc.) for a given sport during the 12 calendar months
preceding  the date of  such transfer can be eligible  only for sub-varsity  competition in  that sport.   A student may have unrestricted
eligibility in all other sports in which his/her name has not appeared on a
school eligibility roster (at any level).
Eligibility can be granted provided the athletic eligibility is approved
by the principals of both the sending and receiving schools and the Board of
Directors and further provided there is no athletic purpose involved in the
transfer (approval must be granted on the special MSHSAA form provided).  The student shall be ineligible for all
sports for 365 days from the date of transfer in the event that either or both principals
or the Board of Directors decline to approve athletic eligibility.

Editor’s
Note:  A student
transferring under the Waiver in grades 7-8 shall have restricted eligibility
from the highest team in the junior high/middle school i.e. “A”
Team restricted to “B” Team.

b.     General Regulations
Applying to All Transfer Students:

1.     ELIGIBLE AT TIME OF
TRANSFER--A transfer student must be eligible in all respects at the school
from which he or she is transferring to be eligible at the school to which he
or she is transferring.

2.     TRANSFER FORM--A
transfer of eligibility form provided by MSHSAA shall be expedited for any
transfer student (one who was not enrolled in the school district or system the
previous year) before a student may be considered eligible without establishing
a 365 days period of attendance from the date of enrollment.  The student shall not be permitted to
compete until the principal receives the information provided on this form from
the school from which he or she transferred, verifying that the student meets
the standards of eligibility to compete.

3.     FIFTH DAY OF
ENROLLMENT--No transfer student can become eligible until the fifth day of
enrollment.  EXCEPTION:  If an interscholastic contest is played
either before the formal opening of school or before the fifth day of the fall
semester, a transfer student who is eligible in all other respects may be
eligible to participate under this provision provided the student is properly
enrolled in the school.

4.     TRANSFER AFTER START OF
STATE TOURNAMENT SERIES--A student who participates in an MSHSAA district or
state tournament contest shall not be eligible during the state tournament
series in the same sport in the same season at a second school, even if the
student completes an otherwise legal transfer to the second school.