By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – The Alabama High School Athletic Association has decided that students transferring from underachieving schools will remain eligible to play sports. The group ruled that student-athletes who arrive from poorly performing schools will not have to wait a year to become eligible for athletics, as long as they transfer within the same school district. Officials say students transferring outside their own school district to attend a better-performing school will still have to wait a year before they can regain athletic eligibility unless the move is considered a bona fide transfer. Bona fide transfers usually result from family situations like job transfers, house fires or divorces. The poorly performing school designation comes from the federal No Child Left Behind Act.