Oklahoma Governor Signs Bill for Student-Athlete Transfers; OSSAA Provides Clarification

Governor Kevin Stitt previously criticized the OSSAA in his State of the State address

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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has made it his goal to give student-athletes a smoother transition to different schools, and he continued that notion last week.

Stitt signed House Bill 2153 on Friday, putting the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association’s decision’s “to the public eye” and ending “penalizing student athletes for transferring schools,” according to a release from the Governor’s office.

House Bill 2153 requires OSSAA “to conduct eligibility, rule violation, and hardship waiver hearings in meetings that are open to the public and subject” to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

The law also “removes from state statute the automatic one-year ‘sit out’ period that has prevented many transfer students from competing in athletics after changing schools,” the release noted.

“I’ve heard too many stories of students who did everything right to transfer, only to be sidelined by an unelected, unaccountable activities association,” Stitt said. “No student’s chance to be a part of an activity should depend on whether their parents can afford an attorney. This law puts families, not bureaucracies, at the center.”

The bill created confusion through high school athletics in the Sooner State about OSSAA’s transfer eligibility rules. The OSSAA followed up with clarification.

OSSAA executive director David Jackson stated via an email to school administrators over the weekend that OSSAA Rule 8 remains intact.

According to The Oklahoman, the Rule 8 policy, which had its guidelines revised in December 2023, states that “each student-athlete is granted one free transfer after establishing athletic eligibility at an initial school,” and “the rule allows student-athletes to change schools one time without sitting out a year or moving into a new district.”

“As the Governor signed HB 2153 into law, it was reported that by repealing the section of law that requires a sit-out period for transfer students, the one year sit out period was eliminated. That is not the case,” Jackson said via The Oklahoman.

The Governor’s release noted that under HB 2153, the OSSAA has “full authority to set eligibility standards and guard against unfair competitive advantages but must do so through procedures that are visible to parents, students and schools.”

The law, which applies to all OSSAA-sanctioned sporting events, comes after Stitt criticized the OSSAA and called for the dismantling of the organization during his State of the State address in February.

“In my 2026 State of the State, I made it clear that our goal is to protect the American Dream in Oklahoma by putting students and parents first,” Stitt said. “No child’s opportunities should be limited by their zip code. HB 2153 is another step toward an education system where families have real choices and where every student can succeed.”

Jackson stated in the email that the OSSAA was in communication with the authors of the bill and Oklahoma Education committee members “on both sides of the chamber throughout its progression in the process.”

“It was made clear that repealing that section of law was done to give OSSAA the flexibility to change our rule if needed,” Jackson added. “The OSSAA Rule 8 that governs eligibility for transfer students is still in place.”

The OSSAA’s annual deadline for free transfers is July 15. The Oklahoman noted that following the deadline, athletes who seek immediate eligibility must apply for a hardship waiver.

“Changing schools without a bona-fide move still requires a one year sit out period unless granted a hardship waiver,” Jackson said.

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