West Virginia high school transfer rule changes approved by state’s BOE
For West Virginia high school student-athletes, transferring school-to-school will be limited in some ways and flexible in others heading into the 2026-2027 season.
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The West Virginia Board of Education signed off on the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission’s (WVSSAC) proposed rule changes when it comes to student-athlete transferring, according to a WSAZ report on Wednesday.
“Our communities have been upset by displacement because of the volume of transfers, and this is a good compromise version, especially with a lot of concern with education choice,” WVSSAC executive director Wayne Ryan said to WSAZ.
“It just means we have a little better control of the transfer situation. I think it’s clear and I think people will understand the rule, but it still provides the flexibility, which I think was essential in this day and age. You still have some freedom of movement, but not unlimited movement.”
West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey signed House Bill 4425 into law back in early April, giving control of student-athlete transferring back to the WVSSAC.
Under the new state bylaw, freshman and sophomore student-athletes keep their right to transfer. However, to be immediately eligible to compete at their new school, they must complete the transfer on or before September 1. Athletes who transfer during the season may participate in other sports, but not in any sport they have already competed in.
However, if a student-athlete in their junior or senior season wishes to transfer, they would require receiving a waiver exemption from the WVSSAC in order to do so.
Here’s a verbatim excerpt of the new WVSSAC student-athlete transfer policy:
“A student in the 9th, 10th, or 11th grades, subject to below, will be entitled to one transfer back from a school located outside of their attendance zone where the student resides into a member school located within the attendance zone where the student’s parents reside. The school must be the ‘home’ school originally identified or selected as the ‘home’ school in the initial enrollment in the out-of-attendance-zone school. Eligibility will be granted immediately if the transfer is on or before September 1.”
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