Salesianum vs. Tatnall Lacrosse. Photo by Nick Halliday
Changes recommended for the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) are underway now that Gov. John Carney has signed a pair of bills into law hat will help shape the association’s future.
The legislation, which went into effect on Aug. 2 originated with a task force that met over the last year to address the DIAA’s operations and was led primarily by Sen. Nicole Poore, who chaired the task force.
Senate Bill 280 stipulates that the DIAA executive director is an employee of the state Department of Education and will be paid commensurate with the director level. SB281 revamps the transfer process for student athletes.
Previously, students who transferred after playing two years of high school athletics were ineligible for an academic year unless that student received a waiver from the DIAA board.
The waiver process often overwhelmed the board of directors, forcing them into executive session for hours at a time and requiring the student, his parents or guardians, or a representative to answer sometimes sensitive questions to determine if he or she met the waiver criteria.
Under the new law, students will still receive one transfer without penalty after his or her first two years of high school competition.
If they transfer after that, or for a second or any subsequent transfer, they will be ineligible for any sport in which they competed the year before for 30 days from the start of competition, or for half the regular season, whichever is less. Also, if a student transfers a second time, he or she must sit for 30 days and is also ineligible for postseason play for a season.
There are certain exceptions to the ineligibility period, but they are limited.
Another of the changes enacted through this law is that the DIAA executive director will decide all waiver requests within 15 days of their submission, with a panel of three board members hearing any appeals. That board may not hold a hearing or ask any questions of the student.
The composition of the DIAA board also will be changing. It will shrink from 22 to 13 voting members including three members from the medical field instead of one.
The athletic directors of the University of Delaware and Delaware State University will be non-voting members. The number of public members will be cut in half from six to three.
Until the new board is selected, the current board will continue to handle the business of interscholastic athletics.
The DIAA’s monthly meeting scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8, has been canceled because not enough members are available to reach a quorum.
302 Sports helps promote local sports athletes, teams, & Coaches. We want to show the rest of the world the talent in Delaware Sports. We produce highlight & College recruitment videos for Delaware athletes. All Delaware All Sports.
Share this Post