BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2312
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Jackie Goldberg, Chair
AB 2312 (Strickland) - As Amended: May 1, 2006
SUBJECT : Pupil transfer policy: interscholastic athletics and
activities
SUMMARY : Prohibits school districts, associations or consortia
of school districts, the California Interscholastic Federation
(CIF), voluntary associations, or any other entity that governs
interscholastic athletics or activities from prohibiting a pupil
who transfers to a school from participating in interscholastic
athletics or activities at that school. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that a school is not prohibited from enforcing a
disciplinary action against a pupil where that pupil's
disciplinary action resulted in restriction from participating
in sports activities at the school, that existed prior to, or
at the time of, the pupil's transfer from his or her prior
school of attendance.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) as
a voluntary organization consisting of school and
school-related personnel with responsibility for administering
interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools.
2)Specifies that the State Department of Education (SDE) has
certain authority over interscholastic activities including
that if the SDE states that a school district, an association,
or consortium of school districts, or the CIF is not in
compliance with state or federal law, the SDE may require the
school district, association, or consortium, or the CIF to
adjust its policy so that it is in compliance.
3)Prohibits the SDE from determining the specific policy that a
school district, association, or consortium, or the CIF must
adopt in order to comply with state and federal laws.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to Legislative Counsel, this bill is
non-fiscal.
AB 2312
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COMMENTS : According to the author, "Current rules about
eligibility for athletes switching school vary between each of
the 10 CIF Sections. Each of the 10 CIF Sections place
restrictions on high school students, prohibiting them from
being instantly eligible to play sports on varsity teams if they
elect to transfer to another school."
According to several athletic directors in opposition to this
bill, the current rules are locally determined and approved by
the principals of the schools and representatives from the
school district in each section. The rules are based on the
unique characteristics and history of each area and were
established to prevent manipulation of a system that is based on
education.
In 1999, two of the largest CIF Sections (Southern California
and Los Angeles) amended their transfer rules, at the direction
of their member schools. This amendment allowed students to
transfer once without a change of residence by the student and
family during a student's four years of high school. Both
sections found that the rule change resulted in several thousand
athletes transferring annually, which caused displacement in
local schools. According to statistics from the Southern
California Section, this change resulted in over 7,300 athletic
transfer related requests. In 2003, both sections reversed their
policy to include restrictions with an appeal process for
students who transfer without their family moving. In 2004,
transfer requests for the Southern California Section fell to
2,122.
Related legislation . SB 1411 (Ortiz), pending in the Senate
Education Committee, would require all voluntary interscholastic
athletic associations of which secondary schools are members to
permit a pupil to retain immediate eligibility to participate in
any sport after his or her first transfer for any reason from
one school to another school, as specified, unless the pupil
transfers for disciplinary reasons. The bill also would require
all voluntary interscholastic athletic associations of which
secondary schools are members to authorize the school from which
the pupil transfers to protest this automatic eligibility to the
association of which it is a member if the school believes the
pupil was recruited to transfer to the other school in order to
participate in a sport in which the pupil participated at the
school from which the pupil transferred.
AB 2312
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Arguments in opposition . According to the Los Angeles Unified
School District, "This legislation would foster a process by
which student-athletes and their parents could choose to change
schools solely for the purpose of athletic eligibility, without
any regard for the stability of the academic program. For
example, a student-athlete could attend and play on a fall sport
team at one school, and switch schools a second time within a
school year and play another sport at a different school in the
same year. An open transfer policy granting varsity athletic
eligibility, such as would be provided by this bill, would have
other negative repercussions, such as inequities in strength of
programs, decreasing the opportunities for residential
student-athletes to qualify for their school teams, and
increasing the motivation of illegal recruitment of
student-athletes on the part of some coaches. This legislation
is particularly of great concern for the LAUSD due to the close
proximity of our schools to each other. Current state law
already allows parents and student-athletes to select a school
of their choice. Every incoming ninth grade student is eligible
to enroll, under certain conditions, and participate in high
school athletics at any school within the district, regardless
of where he or she lives. The current transfer rule allows a
student-athlete who transfers after the ninth grade to play
restricted to the junior varsity level for one year after the
transfer. This rule is fair and protects the student-athletes
at the school who have earned their place on the team."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance
California Interscholastic Federation
California League of High Schools
California School Boards Association
Los Angeles Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District
Selma Unified School District
Small School Districts Association
AB 2312
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Over 40 individual letters from principals and athletic
directors for both public and private schools.
Analysis Prepared by : Misty Padilla / ED. / (916) 319-2087