OHSAA Rule Changes

Ohio high school principals approved 11 of 12 proposed changes to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Constitution and Bylaws during the organization’s annual referendum voting period, which concluded May 15. The changes will take effect Aug. 1 unless otherwise noted.

The most closely watched proposal — and the only high school issue to fail — would have allowed students at a public school that does not sponsor a particular team sport to participate at another nearby public school if both superintendents approved the arrangement. The proposal failed by a 416-358 vote.

Several approved measures dealt with transfer eligibility, residency requirements and hardship situations for student-athletes. One approved bylaw formally defines what qualifies as a “bona fide” change of residence for transfer purposes, including requirements that families fully relinquish their previous residence.

Another approved measure creates a new transfer exception allowing eligibility to be restored if school officials from both districts agree the move is necessary to protect a student’s physical or mental well-being or address other extenuating circumstances.

Member schools also approved updates to the OHSAA’s name, image and likeness (NIL) rules. The change permits student-athletes to enter agreements with licensed athlete agents for marketing purposes, provided those agreements are disclosed to the OHSAA within 14 days. That rule change took effect immediately on May 16.

All three proposed changes affecting seventh- and eighth-grade athletics also passed. Two of the approved measures modify current eligibility exceptions by changing the standard from students having “no impact” on a contest to not having a “significant impact,” allowing greater flexibility for students who play limited roles on teams.

The third junior high measure mirrors the approved high school academic hardship change by removing the requirement that a student must have been withdrawn or removed from school during the immediately preceding grading period in order to qualify for an exception. Instead, families must provide documentation showing a hardship existed at the time the student became ineligible.

The OHSAA includes 815 member high schools and 741 member junior high schools statewide.