Page 119 - 2025-26 By-Laws

Rule 19 - Eligibility and Transfer

at the time of the original transfer under the waiver procedure of rule 19-5.2.
(rule19-5.2)
Q. 19-8 Can a student, whose parent(s) make a Bona Fide move to a New District
or Territory, but who does not transfer at the time of the move, become fully
eligible when the student later transfers to a School which Serves the Student’s
Residence?
A. Yes. As long as the student transfers from the Sending School to the School
which Serves the Student’s (new) Residence prior to the 15th school day of
the next semester or trimester, the student can attempt to obtain full eligibility
at that School, provided there is no evidence that the transfer was the result
of undue influence or primarily for athletic reasons. (rule19-5.2) A transfer
occurring after the 15th school day of the next semester or trimester will be
treated as a transfer without a corresponding change of residence and the
student shall have Limited Eligibility, unless the student can obtain full eligibility
under another rule, such as rule 19-6.1, or under the waiver rule, rule 17-8.
Q. 19-9 If a student transfers from a member School located in One (1) city or
School District to a School in another city or School District, how is eligibility
determined?
A. Transfer eligibility is determined under rule 19. It is the administrative duty,
under rule 3 and rule 19, for all member principals to conduct an investigation
and to carefully check the record of every transfer student who Enrolls at a
member School. All member principals should also advise any student, who
contemplates making a change of schools, as to the IHSAA eligibility rules
regarding transfers. (rule 19)
Q. 19-10 Can a transfer student from a Sending School which was not a member of the
high school athletic association or which was not accredited by the local state
accrediting organization, obtain full eligibility under rule 19-6.1(e), when the
student had attended the Sending School for One (1) semester?
A. Full eligibility under rule 19-6.1(e) is restricted to those cases where the transfer
student attended the Sending School(s) and those Sending School(s) were not
accredited or were not member(s) of the local high school athletic association)
during the entire 365 day period prior to the transfer. If the transfer student
attended unaccredited or a non-association member schools for just One (1)
semester, the student could not gain full eligibility under rule 19-6.1(e).
Q. 19-11 If a student’s parents moved out-of-state, but the student remains and moves
in with a family friend and remains enrolled at the original school, is this student
athletically eligible?
A. Yes. Once a student becomes eligible in a School, the student retains eligibility
in that School even though the student’s parents may have move to another
District or Territory. (rule 19-2)
Q. 19-12 Prior to the day an out-of-state transfer student enrolled at a Receiving
School (School A) for the fall semester, the student had turned in a completed
Consent and Release Certificate at another local member School, School B,
and participated in Eight (8) days of football Practice at School B? What must
the transfer student do in order to become athletically eligible to compete in a
football contest for School A?
A. First, the student will have to initiate an IHSAA Transfer Report with the School
A, and since the student was deemed to have enrolled at School B (by practicing
with the football team), the Transfer Report must be submitted to both School
B, as well as to the students original out-of-state School(s), (rule 19-8); the
IHSAA will then have to rule on the transfer before the student is eligible at
School A. Second, since a Consent and Release Certificate needs to be on
file with the School of Enrollment, the student will need to get the completed
Consent and Release Certificate from School B and file it with the School A.

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