A high school student was informed by a charter school in Las Vegas that they weren’t accepted for admission.
But the family was told if a few other incoming students didn’t accept their invitations to attend, the spot would be theirs.
The first day of school came, and the teen was forced to go with their backup plan, enrolling at a neighborhood public school in the east Las Vegas Valley, where they joined a sports team.
Then, two weeks into the school year, the waiting-list spot at the charter school opened and the child was cleared to enroll.
When they went to practice for the new school’s sports team, the transition wasn’t as smooth. The teen was told they were ineligible for 180 days because they were already on the roster at their previous school and transferring was against Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association rules.
Senate Bill 114, which was approved unanimously in the Nevada Senate and is being considered in the Nevada Assembly, would give athletes a one-time transfer without the penalty of sitting out.
It still has to be approved by the Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Joe Lombardo. It would be effective July 1 — about one month before the new school year.
The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Edgar Flores, D-Las Vegas, who realizes the value that participating in sports brings to the high school experience. In an interview with the Sun, he noted that “180 days is an eternity for a high school (kid).”
After talking with the charter school student’s family, Flores said he was motivated to get to work in the Legislature to produce a solution for a child living in his district. The fact that lawmakers in Carson City are talking about ways to make high school sports more accessible is a good thing, because it means more people of influence are invested in something those of us in the prep sports community have long been passionate about.
I initially wasn’t in favor of the bill, fearing that it would bring unintended consequences by allowing established varsity players the option to transfer and immediately play. It would turn high school sports in Nevada into what we see in collegiate sports with the NCAA Transfer Portal, where rosters are gutted by athletes leaving for what they feel are greener pastures.
And that’s just fine.
The fear of Bishop Gorman football, Slam Nevada wrestling or some Clark County School District magnet school — Clark basketball or Basic Academy baseball — building a powerhouse roster on transfers shouldn’t interfere with the true purpose behind the proposal: It gives all kids more options to participate. That, after all, is why the games are played.
Many coaches and administrators are also torn in how they view the proposal. But when looking at the pros and cons, it’s important to keep the athlete as the sole focus.
If a child shows promise in a sport and can enhance their college prospects by changing schools, we shouldn’t stand in the way.
The more children who can use athletics to better their lives, the better because it makes our community that much stronger.
How transferring in Clark County looks
The Clark County School District’s athletics office deals with hundreds of public-school transfer requests a year, and if the athlete’s family has moved into the new zone, the child is granted eligibility.
People, after all, a move for a better situation — cheaper rent, closer to work or for their child to attend a better school.
Here’s a sampling of the carousel: After the expected starting quarterback at Green Valley High School moved to California last summer, the expected starter at Foothill transferred to Green Valley, with the family moving across Henderson to establish residency in the Green Valley zone.
Foothill and Green Valley also lost top players to Liberty last summer.
And in January, the sophomore quarterback at Las Vegas High School, an all-state performer, also moved into the Liberty zone. All the players were eligible without having to sit.
It’s important to note that the bill being considered at the Legislature wouldn’t change the fact that a child must live within the zoning boundaries of the public school they attend.
That means, with or without the bill, public school transferring will continue. It also means families salivating over finding a better situation would have to find housing in a different part of town.
But the bill would also allow athletes to transfer and become instantly eligible at private schools, like Bishop Gorman or Faith Lutheran, a magnet school or charter school. And those schools are the ones typically producing athletic dynasties, with or without the transfer rule coming to fruition.
That would give those institutions, many of which are already at an advantage because they welcome athletes from all over the valley, a bigger edge, proponents of the bill say.
That’s why, under the current transfer rules, athletes who attend a magnet school or private school — those with no boundaries — transfer knowing they would be forced to sit out 180 days.
That was the case last summer when the best football player at Canyon Springs enrolled at Bishop Gorman, where he was able to practice all season with the nationally ranked Gaels but couldn’t participate in a game.
Like the charter school student the bill was designed to help, he had to wait 180 days — and he will be a dominant player this fall once eligible.
This proposal simply would give magnet school and private school students the same freedom to transfer as public school students.
Bishop Gorman, others will still win big
Gorman football, with or without this proposal, will most likely be the state champions in 2023. Most Friday nights, the Gaels will win under terms of the mercy rule, when the score is so lopsided that the game clock keeps running. Same for Slam Nevada wrestling and Centennial girls basketball.
This proposal isn’t about those programs. It’s about the 18,000 student-athletes in Clark County who take part in the activity each school year.
All kids deserve the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of participating in school-sponsored sports, something Flores and his colleagues in the state Senate affirmed with their unanimous vote. In prep athletics, Democrats and Republicans in Carson City finally found something on which they could agree.
They realize there’s nothing better than playing in front of family and friends, going for pizza after a Friday night game, or suiting up for the community school you grew up dreaming to play for.
It was that way for me in the 1990s with the Chaparral Cowboys, and all of my friends would have balked at the notion of representing other schools, especially Valley or Eldorado. Ugh.
But this is a different era, and the Legislature’s action will have immediate ramifications. Families are waiting for the bill to move through the statehouse in determining what’s next for their child, including athletes who aren’t contributors at a private school and would welcome the change for playing time at their neighborhood institution. There are only so many spots in the starting lineup, after all.
Gorman football averages about 30 plays per game because its contests are mostly conducted using the mercy rule, meaning backup players — many of whom have scholarship offers — are seeing the field for only a handful of plays. This proposal would allow for those kids to transfer without the penalty of sitting.
Yes, the revolving door will go both ways, and that’s a great thing because more kids will have a better outcome through more participation.
That’s why Flores is acting, for the charter school student who deserved to compete this fall and for others who simply want to play.