New Missouri Law Could Open Doors For Recruiting In High School

June 25, 2013 /
101sports.com

http://www.101sports.com/2013/06/24/public-high-schools-are-now-free-to-poach-athletes/

There is an unintended consequence of a Missouri law allowing students from non-accredited school districts to attend public schools in neighboring districts. Prep athletes from those failing districts will now be up for grabs.

The Normandy, Riverview Gardens and Kansas City school districts are non-accredited. The Missouri Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling last week and upheld a misguided law passed by the Missouri legislature several years ago.

Students in the failing districts cannot only transfer to other districts – regardless if those districts face overcrowding or budget shortfalls – their home district has to pay the cost of the education.

The state money that goes to a district for each student attending school will not go to the district where the child lives; it will go to where the child goes to school.

It’s obvious to me that some athletic directors and coaches will seize upon this opportunity – especially in the Kansas City area. Every all-state and all-conference athlete that plays for a school in an unaccredited district is free to transfer to a neighboring school district. Just stop and think about what that could mean in coming years.

Yes, most students would transfer solely for a better education. But it won’t be long before the mischief gets started. It probably already has.

Missouri now allows for some of the state’s best players, male and female, to pick the school at which they want to play.


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