CIF may require transferring high schoolers to sit out part of season



Q. We just bought a house and moved in October and never knew this would affect our two children who are very involved in sports. We moved for that reason for one of the kids, in fact. Now, even though we moved legitimately, as in sold our last house and bought a new one, go figure, I guess many people lie and cheat on this one.

But anyway, we really did move and are living very near the new and better high school and both children have been notified they will have to have a sit-out period. Have you heard of this? Could the school be wrong, or investigating us to make sure we really moved? How can we be penalized for actually moving? Will this mean we cannot do junior varsity level as well? Don’t we have a right to attend the school we live near?

A. Yes, I have heard of the sit-out period. This is a California Interscholastic Federation rule, not the school’s rule. The school is not doing this to investigate your children. It is a rule determined by the CIF when a student shifts high schools for the first time. If your children were granted the sit-out period, it is a way to make them eligible to be on the varsity teams in sports they participated in during the last 12 months.

It is usually a rather short period, and your children may still practice with the teams if they are accepted on the teams. If your children go to the junior varsity level teams, they will not then be able to play on the varsity teams this year.

You have every right to attend the school you moved to be close to and it sounds like you are doing just that. As for the rules to play in the sports, those are a little more technical when the CIF is involved. In no time, your kids should be fine. Because of your desire to move to a school with a better team, you may want to get in touch with the coaches. They usually know these rules really well and can help you acclimate. Keep in mind that your kids will still have to make the teams. Best of luck.

Q. As a former middle school teacher (39 years), I applaud your column today: specific advice that will really work IF the parents follow through consistently. Too many parents won't take away the sports, TV time and computers that essentially babysit the kids. Bad behavior in elementary school left untreated becomes a nightmare in middle or high school!

A. It takes a special teacher to teach middle school, and advice from someone who was there for 39 years means something. We see kids at ages and stages again and again as teachers, and this makes us all a good resource for parents. Kids don’t generally fix their own bad behavior. That is the job of the parents.

Contact the writer at goasktheteacher@yahoo.com.


Join the conversation

Comments are encouraged, but you must follow our User Agreement
