Miller, Turner Study OSSAA Rules
OKLAHOMA CITY – Reps. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, and Tim Turner, R-Kinta, this week held an interim study reviewing Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) eligibility and transfer rules as well as usage of school athletic facilities. The study, held before the House Common Education Committee, specifically examined the implementation of OSSAA Rule 24, commonly referred to as the "Link Rule," which is intended to discourage student athletes from changing school districts to follow a trainer and/or coach for athletic purposes. Lawmakers said they wanted to consider the rule in relation to Senate Bill 783 , passed in 2021, which amended provisions of the Education Open Transfer Act. The act governs student mobility and participation in public school extracurricular activity. "We took a close look at how Rule 24 is being applied and whether it reflects the intent of the Open Transfer law," Miller said. "Families make school decisions for many different reasons, and kids should still be able to stay connected to the activities and teams that give them a sense of belonging. We also heard how restrictions on the use of public school fields for camps or training during the school year can create challenges, particularly when they limit opportunities for Oklahoma student athletes to demonstrate their skills and talent. These are real situations for real students. Moving forward, I want to ensure our rules are clear, fair and truly supportive of the opportunities our students work so hard for." Turner said, "Today's study was not a witch hunt but to look at concerns brought to legislators by parents, coaches and citizens about the OSSAA. We want to keep high school sports fun and make sure student athletes are able to better themselves to go to the next level. We want to stay on facts and present evidence gathered by each speaker to help the legislative body determine the way they would like OSSAA to proceed." OSSAA Executive Director David Jackson said the association is not just some outside entity imposing rules on schools. It's an organization created and governed by school administrators who voluntarily join in order to operate on a level playing field in athletic and other competitions. The intent is to keep the focus on education rather than on winning at all costs. The 482 member schools themselves set the rules by which they're governed, and they can change them if necessary. It's also important to note OSSAA oversees about 30 co-curricular activities, including the arts such as vocal and instrumental music, theater, speech and debate, among others. About 150,000 students are served through the organization each year. Jackson said OSSAA's foundational rule of residence eligibility states that a student is eligible to compete only in the school district where the parents reside. If a student transfers to a school outside the district, then they are required to sit out one year from varsity-level participation unless they are given an exception, or what OSSAA would call a hardship waiver. During the first two-and-a-half months of the current school year, OSSAA tracked 1,060 exceptions requested by students transferring out of their district who wanted to be granted eligibility. Jackson said 1,003 of those requests – about 95% - were approved. In recent years, Jackson said member schools of the association determined to allow students 9th grade and above to select whatever school they would like to attend and then be granted one free transfer. He said they are fielding requests, however, from students who are unhappy with the school where they transferred. They either want to transfer back to their original school or onto another school. There are some guardrails and timelines around when transfers can occur, he said. Jackson also addressed the Link Rule. "Schools have always been concerned about students that want to follow a coach that maybe changed jobs. When the exception – the free transfer – came about, they (school administrators) absolutely anticipated that's even going to magnify that issue a great deal more, and they're right about that." Several parents and a student spoke at the meeting as did former Rep. Mark Vancuren, who also previously worked as a coach. Chris Adamson, a Deer Creek School Board member and the parent of student athletes, spoke about restrictions on high school sports facilities for use by outside entities. His son, who played quarterback, frequently had to attend camps and other events outside of the state to get before college recruiters. Sixty-one events between January and May and not one of them was in Oklahoma, he said. He knows for a fact there have been inquiries about running them in the state, but there have been obstacles to getting these events run on high school campuses. "These are incredibly important exposure and recruiting events," Adamson said. "This impacts Oklahomans to find the best opportunities for college." From a school board perspective, Adamson said there is a lot of lost revenue for schools because of these restrictions. Additional study presenters included Tom George, chief executive officer and founder of QB Impact; Cindy Morey, a parent of a student athlete; Hannah Whitten, an attorney with Whitten Burrage; and Kent Rossander, one of four Glencoe High School students initially deemed ineligible to play after transferring earlier this year. The entire study can be viewed here .