VHSL Residency Requirement

Section 28-6-3, Interpretation 7, of the transfer rule outlines residency requirements that determine eligibility for participation in high school sports in the Commonwealth’s public schools.

Section 28-6-3 states:

28-6-3 Interpretations:

(l) Enrollment is defi ned as offi cial registration and attendance in classes for at least

three consecutive school days thereafter.

(2) Engaging in a contest, regardless of whether or not said student has offi cially registered

in the school or attended classes, shall be evidence that the student is enrolled in the

school.

(3) Once a student becomes eligible in a school, he/she may complete his/her eligibility

at that school even though his/her parents or guardians may change address, as long

as he/she remains continuously enrolled there. However, if a student remains enrolled in

that school beyond the third day of the fall semester after the parents' or guardians' move,

he/she forfeits the right to transfer to the school serving the district to which his/her parents

or guardians have moved without fi rst meeting 28-6-2 (1).

(4) A student who attends a school other than the one serving the school district in which

his/her parents reside must comply with one of the exceptions in 28-6-2 to establish his/her

eligibility. Also, a student who has established his/her eligibility at a school other than the

one serving the school district in which his/her parents reside must comply with one of the

exceptions in 28-6-2 to establish his/her eligibility if he/she returns to the school serving the

school district in which his/her parents reside.

(5) The appointment of a legal guardian will not render a student immediately eligible

in the school to which he/she transfers except in the case of the death of his/her parents,

parent or guardian, and then only if the new guardianship is made legally and without delay.

A student who has neither parents nor legal guardian must meet 28-6-2 (1) in the school to

which he/she transfers, unless the family with whom he/she lives has been given custody

ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction in which case he/she becomes eligible immediately.

(6) If the parents of a student who has previously enrolled in the high school grades

move from a district served by one high school into a district served by another high school

and the student enters a high school other than the one serving the district into which his/her

parents move, he/she is not eligible in the high school of his/her choice until after meeting

28-6-2 (1) in that school.

(7) Residence is defi ned as the domicile of an individual, meaning that the individual lives

in a locality with the intent to make it a fi xed and permanent home. Domicile requires more

than bodily presence as an inhabitant in a given place; it requires bodily presence and an

intention to make such a place a fi xed and permanent home. Other indicia of domicile include

automobile registration, voter registration and the reporting of a mailing address change to

the appropriate agencies, such as the post offi ce, utility companies, creditors and employers.

Under no circumstances can a family or student participant have two residences for

eligibility purposes. It is the obligation of the school to know the complete residence status

of each student participant and to see that all comply with these requirements. Any change

in residence must be bona fi de. Determination of what constitutes a bona fi de change of

residence depends upon the facts of each case, but in order for a change of residence to

be considered bona fi de at least the following facts must exist: (1) The original residence

must be abandoned as a residence; that is sold, rented or disposed of as a residence, and

must not be used as a residence by any member of the family, (2) The entire family must

make the change and take with them the household goods and furniture appropriate to the

circumstances, and (3) The change must be made with the intent that it is permanent.

(8) For purposes of transfer, VHSL does not recognize student emancipation by age 18

or through marriage.

Related Link:

VHSL Handbook