West Virginia Governor Urges Reexamination of High School Sports Transfer Law

In response to a string of lopsided football games at the start of the season, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice is calling on state lawmakers to take another look at a recently passed law governing high school sports transfers.

Last week, ten West Virginia high school teams scored more than 60 points in their games, with three schools accumulating over 80 points. Notably, some of these high-scoring teams had welcomed multiple transfers this season.

Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill allowing high school athletes to transfer schools once during their careers and immediately participate in athletics at their new school. This bill became law without the governor's signature. Previously, transfers had to sit out a year of athletic competition unless granted a waiver.

This transfer policy change was part of a broader bill that expanded athletic opportunities for recipients of the state-funded Hope Scholarship, which supports private school tuition, homeschooling expenses, and various other educational costs.

Governor Justice expressed concerns during his weekly media briefing, stating, "The vote in favor was significant, but I felt it was a mistake. Vetoing the bill would likely lead to an override, a waste of time."

Justice, a former high school basketball coach, emphasized his worry that this new policy could lead to the formation of "super teams" in West Virginia high school sports. He remarked, "We risk undermining high school sports across the state if we don't exercise caution. It's a regrettable move, plain and simple. We shouldn't have done it, and now we must find a better solution."