Anonymous wrote:Why do you care if she transfers? If she isn’t a starter and didn’t play, it will change nothing except the kid will be happy.
I mean isn’t she at the new school? Sounds like she was committed to leaving and left. Let her play!
This scenario creates two challenges - one for the player and one for VHSL.
Assuming this statement about her being a non-impact player was just made by others as justification to accept the athletic transfer, what happens if the player does start or plays a lot? This places the player in a no win situation. If she starts or plays her true intentions for transferring will be questioned and would seem to validate what many on this board have been saying, the change was really about sports.
If the VHSL allows any player to simply transfer because the student was “committed to leaving and left” how would they ensure fairness of play and competition? This opens the door for players in any sport to leave for whatever school they believe has the best team, coach, academics, most friends, presents the best opportunity to receive college offers, etc. Recruiting at the high school level becomes an even bigger reality in this situation. Their rules are in place to protect all.
Hopefully this situation has brought light to the fact LCPS and VHSL have different transfer rules. LCPS has to grant a transfer student waiver before the VHSL will consider the matter. One does not guarantee the other. Hard lesson learned, but one others should keep in mind for the future.
What it does is show that this is not good. If someone decides a school transfer has merit based on mental health or bullying then it should be across the board waiver. Playing sports or being involved in extracurriculars are positive ways to heal so it should be all or nothing and consistent. Hopefully this at least shines a light on that. And for any athlete needing to transfer in Loudoun it’s just sent a message you better have the funds to rent or buy in the desired location or have the funds to go private, and that’s out of touch for many.
This is not the first time a student has been accepted by LCPS and denied by VHSL.
I don’t know the details presented by this student to secure the LCPS waiver, but isn’t the threshold for changing schools low and simply based on capacity in Loudoun County? If the school has room transfers are usually granted assuming the student can get to/from school with their own transportation. The student then applies for a waiver each year. The vetting process for approving a change in schools by the LCPS is not too strict.
The VHSL is completely separate from LCPS. They are responsible for ensuring fair play in sports across the state. Their policy is clear in that transfers accepted by a new school will be required to sit out of sports for a year. The exception being students moving into the new school district.
I’m not saying this is the case with this one student, but with schools setting the transfer bar so low based on capacity the potential for schools to recruit athletes is real. To discourage this behavior and keep sports fair the VHSL enforces the one-year ban on playing sports. I would imagine the bar is very high for the VHSL to allow a transfer. Clearly, in their minds it was not met in this case.
This student’s parents knew the rules, or should have known them. There should not have been any expectation on their part of a waiver approval by the VHSL, especially when others have been denied in the past. And while their intent for seeking a waiver may have been good, they have to understand not everyone’s intentions are and respect the VHSL’s decision to enforce their rules to protect sports. Not maintaining a high bar for sports waivers could lead to recruiting chaos.
Testimony in court showed the parents were explicitly told in writing she wouldn't be eligible to play sports if she transferred. They thought they could get a waiver. And then it was denied and they went on the warpath.
Doesn't mean it's right. Only athletes are penalized for making a move to preserve their mental health? Not band members, actors, artists, debaters, robotics team members, math team members, student council presidents, etc.? Anyone can game the system it sounds like as long as there's space in a school but only an athlete being bullied and/or struggling with mental can't continue with something that helps them. Sounds wrong and illegal. And maybe parents had hope because another athlete in a couple of competitive sport at the same school was granted the waiver to play? But they should have just rented a house in the new zone and made it easier.
Jiminy Crickets, Lauren, just STOP with this absurd linkage to other activities.
Yes, athletics are a different category given their inherent competitive nature. This is why they're covered by a STATE-WIDE SANCTION (VHSL).
It's not "wrong" and it's certainly NOT illegal. First, you tried to insinuate that the denial of your daughter's waiver had implications for other activities (it doesn't). Now you seem to be saying it SHOULD have implications for other activities (it won't). This is one of the many reasons you lost, hun -- you kept changing the message and moving the goal posts.
Land the helicopter, hun. I'm sorry your DD didn't get to play HS lacrosse this season. But believe it or not, she hasn't been wronged or cheated or injured. She'll live. And you need to land the damn helicopter. You're beyond ridiculous and you aren't doing her any favors.
Sorry, hate to disappoint you, but there are others besides the family who are now concerned with the implications. And by the parents vs their haters actually signing their name on here they actually actually garnered respect even though I don't agree with their approach. Guess what—marching bands, robotics teams, math teams, DECA, etc. have STATE WIDE competitions, too! There is an inequity in how athletes are treated, period. Most of the athletes aren't going to have their college applications boosted by being a member of the lacrosse team as much as these and other resume boosters like student that student government and the arts do, so yes, it's not right.
You grossly have zero empathy for the child, which is so scary if you're a parent! Or maybe you're a teen, but either way take a look in the mirror and think about how you’d feel if it were your child or you experiencing this. Hopefully that would elicit a little compassion whether you agree with the result or not.
Au contraire, I feel very sorry for the child, whose parents have steered her badly into a victim mindset, taught her to act with entitlement, and made her a spectacle in this whole thing.
This weird attempt to connect athletics to other activities is a complete red herring. There's no precedent, nor should there be. Athletics ARE a separate class of activities, with a statewide governing body. If those other activities had statewide governing bodies, I'm sure they'd have rules governing transfers, too. But let's be honest, district hopping for athletics and coaches is a bigger issue than someone who wants to be in another school's marching band.
Your arrogance in continuing to think you know better than what the actual child and her family experienced is bizarre, and your attempts to change the narrative to dismiss the mental health struggles of a child and possible bullying is absolutely victim shaming. It’s why kids and adults don’t speak up. Hopefully your child never experiences something like this because the lack of compassion is unbelievable. And by the way, your pretend empathy by saying I feel sorry for her because of what her parents have taught her is not actual compassion—it’s aggressive and condescending and directed at a child is just gross. Regardless if you agree with the decision just be nice and show some true compassion. Mean adults behind the keyboard are the problem because their kids think it’s ok to model their behavior.
And yes, school hopping to get an advantage in extracurriculars to gain admittance to competitive schools like UVA or other high academics colleges is a thing. But even if it’s not as prevalent as in sports it creates inequities.
Anonymous wrote:Why do you care if she transfers? If she isn’t a starter and didn’t play, it will change nothing except the kid will be happy.
I mean isn’t she at the new school? Sounds like she was committed to leaving and left. Let her play!
This scenario creates two challenges - one for the player and one for VHSL.
Assuming this statement about her being a non-impact player was just made by others as justification to accept the athletic transfer, what happens if the player does start or plays a lot? This places the player in a no win situation. If she starts or plays her true intentions for transferring will be questioned and would seem to validate what many on this board have been saying, the change was really about sports.
If the VHSL allows any player to simply transfer because the student was “committed to leaving and left” how would they ensure fairness of play and competition? This opens the door for players in any sport to leave for whatever school they believe has the best team, coach, academics, most friends, presents the best opportunity to receive college offers, etc. Recruiting at the high school level becomes an even bigger reality in this situation. Their rules are in place to protect all.
Hopefully this situation has brought light to the fact LCPS and VHSL have different transfer rules. LCPS has to grant a transfer student waiver before the VHSL will consider the matter. One does not guarantee the other. Hard lesson learned, but one others should keep in mind for the future.
What it does is show that this is not good. If someone decides a school transfer has merit based on mental health or bullying then it should be across the board waiver. Playing sports or being involved in extracurriculars are positive ways to heal so it should be all or nothing and consistent. Hopefully this at least shines a light on that. And for any athlete needing to transfer in Loudoun it’s just sent a message you better have the funds to rent or buy in the desired location or have the funds to go private, and that’s out of touch for many.
This is not the first time a student has been accepted by LCPS and denied by VHSL.
I don’t know the details presented by this student to secure the LCPS waiver, but isn’t the threshold for changing schools low and simply based on capacity in Loudoun County? If the school has room transfers are usually granted assuming the student can get to/from school with their own transportation. The student then applies for a waiver each year. The vetting process for approving a change in schools by the LCPS is not too strict.
The VHSL is completely separate from LCPS. They are responsible for ensuring fair play in sports across the state. Their policy is clear in that transfers accepted by a new school will be required to sit out of sports for a year. The exception being students moving into the new school district.
I’m not saying this is the case with this one student, but with schools setting the transfer bar so low based on capacity the potential for schools to recruit athletes is real. To discourage this behavior and keep sports fair the VHSL enforces the one-year ban on playing sports. I would imagine the bar is very high for the VHSL to allow a transfer. Clearly, in their minds it was not met in this case.
This student’s parents knew the rules, or should have known them. There should not have been any expectation on their part of a waiver approval by the VHSL, especially when others have been denied in the past. And while their intent for seeking a waiver may have been good, they have to understand not everyone’s intentions are and respect the VHSL’s decision to enforce their rules to protect sports. Not maintaining a high bar for sports waivers could lead to recruiting chaos.
Testimony in court showed the parents were explicitly told in writing she wouldn't be eligible to play sports if she transferred. They thought they could get a waiver. And then it was denied and they went on the warpath.
Doesn't mean it's right. Only athletes are penalized for making a move to preserve their mental health? Not band members, actors, artists, debaters, robotics team members, math team members, student council presidents, etc.? Anyone can game the system it sounds like as long as there's space in a school but only an athlete being bullied and/or struggling with mental can't continue with something that helps them. Sounds wrong and illegal. And maybe parents had hope because another athlete in a couple of competitive sport at the same school was granted the waiver to play? But they should have just rented a house in the new zone and made it easier.
Jiminy Crickets, Lauren, just STOP with this absurd linkage to other activities.
Yes, athletics are a different category given their inherent competitive nature. This is why they're covered by a STATE-WIDE SANCTION (VHSL).
It's not "wrong" and it's certainly NOT illegal. First, you tried to insinuate that the denial of your daughter's waiver had implications for other activities (it doesn't). Now you seem to be saying it SHOULD have implications for other activities (it won't). This is one of the many reasons you lost, hun -- you kept changing the message and moving the goal posts.
Land the helicopter, hun. I'm sorry your DD didn't get to play HS lacrosse this season. But believe it or not, she hasn't been wronged or cheated or injured. She'll live. And you need to land the damn helicopter. You're beyond ridiculous and you aren't doing her any favors.
Sorry, hate to disappoint you, but there are others besides the family who are now concerned with the implications. And by the parents vs their haters actually signing their name on here they actually actually garnered respect even though I don't agree with their approach. Guess what—marching bands, robotics teams, math teams, DECA, etc. have STATE WIDE competitions, too! There is an inequity in how athletes are treated, period. Most of the athletes aren't going to have their college applications boosted by being a member of the lacrosse team as much as these and other resume boosters like student that student government and the arts do, so yes, it's not right.
You grossly have zero empathy for the child, which is so scary if you're a parent! Or maybe you're a teen, but either way take a look in the mirror and think about how you’d feel if it were your child or you experiencing this. Hopefully that would elicit a little compassion whether you agree with the result or not.
Au contraire, I feel very sorry for the child, whose parents have steered her badly into a victim mindset, taught her to act with entitlement, and made her a spectacle in this whole thing.
This weird attempt to connect athletics to other activities is a complete red herring. There's no precedent, nor should there be. Athletics ARE a separate class of activities, with a statewide governing body. If those other activities had statewide governing bodies, I'm sure they'd have rules governing transfers, too. But let's be honest, district hopping for athletics and coaches is a bigger issue than someone who wants to be in another school's marching band.
Your arrogance in continuing to think you know better than what the actual child and her family experienced is bizarre, and your attempts to change the narrative to dismiss the mental health struggles of a child and possible bullying is absolutely victim shaming. It’s why kids and adults don’t speak up. Hopefully your child never experiences something like this because the lack of compassion is unbelievable. And by the way, your pretend empathy by saying I feel sorry for her because of what her parents have taught her is not actual compassion—it’s aggressive and condescending and directed at a child is just gross. Regardless if you agree with the decision just be nice and show some true compassion. Mean adults behind the keyboard are the problem because their kids think it’s ok to model their behavior.
And yes, school hopping to get an advantage in extracurriculars to gain admittance to competitive schools like UVA or other high academics colleges is a thing. But even if it’s not as prevalent as in sports it creates inequities.
Once again, I actually HAVE a child with mental illness, one who spent time in the hospital, and have been appalled by the use of cynical, self-serving rhetoric about mental illness in this case. And your attempt to lump in athletics with other kinds of extracurriculars is disgusting. Everyone sees through it. Knock it off on both counts.
Anonymous wrote:Why do you care if she transfers? If she isn’t a starter and didn’t play, it will change nothing except the kid will be happy.
I mean isn’t she at the new school? Sounds like she was committed to leaving and left. Let her play!
This scenario creates two challenges - one for the player and one for VHSL.
Assuming this statement about her being a non-impact player was just made by others as justification to accept the athletic transfer, what happens if the player does start or plays a lot? This places the player in a no win situation. If she starts or plays her true intentions for transferring will be questioned and would seem to validate what many on this board have been saying, the change was really about sports.
If the VHSL allows any player to simply transfer because the student was “committed to leaving and left” how would they ensure fairness of play and competition? This opens the door for players in any sport to leave for whatever school they believe has the best team, coach, academics, most friends, presents the best opportunity to receive college offers, etc. Recruiting at the high school level becomes an even bigger reality in this situation. Their rules are in place to protect all.
Hopefully this situation has brought light to the fact LCPS and VHSL have different transfer rules. LCPS has to grant a transfer student waiver before the VHSL will consider the matter. One does not guarantee the other. Hard lesson learned, but one others should keep in mind for the future.
What it does is show that this is not good. If someone decides a school transfer has merit based on mental health or bullying then it should be across the board waiver. Playing sports or being involved in extracurriculars are positive ways to heal so it should be all or nothing and consistent. Hopefully this at least shines a light on that. And for any athlete needing to transfer in Loudoun it’s just sent a message you better have the funds to rent or buy in the desired location or have the funds to go private, and that’s out of touch for many.
This is not the first time a student has been accepted by LCPS and denied by VHSL.
I don’t know the details presented by this student to secure the LCPS waiver, but isn’t the threshold for changing schools low and simply based on capacity in Loudoun County? If the school has room transfers are usually granted assuming the student can get to/from school with their own transportation. The student then applies for a waiver each year. The vetting process for approving a change in schools by the LCPS is not too strict.
The VHSL is completely separate from LCPS. They are responsible for ensuring fair play in sports across the state. Their policy is clear in that transfers accepted by a new school will be required to sit out of sports for a year. The exception being students moving into the new school district.
I’m not saying this is the case with this one student, but with schools setting the transfer bar so low based on capacity the potential for schools to recruit athletes is real. To discourage this behavior and keep sports fair the VHSL enforces the one-year ban on playing sports. I would imagine the bar is very high for the VHSL to allow a transfer. Clearly, in their minds it was not met in this case.
This student’s parents knew the rules, or should have known them. There should not have been any expectation on their part of a waiver approval by the VHSL, especially when others have been denied in the past. And while their intent for seeking a waiver may have been good, they have to understand not everyone’s intentions are and respect the VHSL’s decision to enforce their rules to protect sports. Not maintaining a high bar for sports waivers could lead to recruiting chaos.
Testimony in court showed the parents were explicitly told in writing she wouldn't be eligible to play sports if she transferred. They thought they could get a waiver. And then it was denied and they went on the warpath.
Doesn't mean it's right. Only athletes are penalized for making a move to preserve their mental health? Not band members, actors, artists, debaters, robotics team members, math team members, student council presidents, etc.? Anyone can game the system it sounds like as long as there's space in a school but only an athlete being bullied and/or struggling with mental can't continue with something that helps them. Sounds wrong and illegal. And maybe parents had hope because another athlete in a couple of competitive sport at the same school was granted the waiver to play? But they should have just rented a house in the new zone and made it easier.
Jiminy Crickets, Lauren, just STOP with this absurd linkage to other activities.
Yes, athletics are a different category given their inherent competitive nature. This is why they're covered by a STATE-WIDE SANCTION (VHSL).
It's not "wrong" and it's certainly NOT illegal. First, you tried to insinuate that the denial of your daughter's waiver had implications for other activities (it doesn't). Now you seem to be saying it SHOULD have implications for other activities (it won't). This is one of the many reasons you lost, hun -- you kept changing the message and moving the goal posts.
Land the helicopter, hun. I'm sorry your DD didn't get to play HS lacrosse this season. But believe it or not, she hasn't been wronged or cheated or injured. She'll live. And you need to land the damn helicopter. You're beyond ridiculous and you aren't doing her any favors.
Sorry, hate to disappoint you, but there are others besides the family who are now concerned with the implications. And by the parents vs their haters actually signing their name on here they actually actually garnered respect even though I don't agree with their approach. Guess what—marching bands, robotics teams, math teams, DECA, etc. have STATE WIDE competitions, too! There is an inequity in how athletes are treated, period. Most of the athletes aren't going to have their college applications boosted by being a member of the lacrosse team as much as these and other resume boosters like student that student government and the arts do, so yes, it's not right.
You grossly have zero empathy for the child, which is so scary if you're a parent! Or maybe you're a teen, but either way take a look in the mirror and think about how you’d feel if it were your child or you experiencing this. Hopefully that would elicit a little compassion whether you agree with the result or not.
Au contraire, I feel very sorry for the child, whose parents have steered her badly into a victim mindset, taught her to act with entitlement, and made her a spectacle in this whole thing.
This weird attempt to connect athletics to other activities is a complete red herring. There's no precedent, nor should there be. Athletics ARE a separate class of activities, with a statewide governing body. If those other activities had statewide governing bodies, I'm sure they'd have rules governing transfers, too. But let's be honest, district hopping for athletics and coaches is a bigger issue than someone who wants to be in another school's marching band.
Your arrogance in continuing to think you know better than what the actual child and her family experienced is bizarre, and your attempts to change the narrative to dismiss the mental health struggles of a child and possible bullying is absolutely victim shaming. It’s why kids and adults don’t speak up. Hopefully your child never experiences something like this because the lack of compassion is unbelievable. And by the way, your pretend empathy by saying I feel sorry for her because of what her parents have taught her is not actual compassion—it’s aggressive and condescending and directed at a child is just gross. Regardless if you agree with the decision just be nice and show some true compassion. Mean adults behind the keyboard are the problem because their kids think it’s ok to model their behavior.
And yes, school hopping to get an advantage in extracurriculars to gain admittance to competitive schools like UVA or other high academics colleges is a thing. But even if it’s not as prevalent as in sports it creates inequities.
Once again, I actually HAVE a child with mental illness, one who spent time in the hospital, and have been appalled by the use of cynical, self-serving rhetoric about mental illness in this case. And your attempt to lump in athletics with other kinds of extracurriculars is disgusting. Everyone sees through it. Knock it off on both counts.
Once again—YOU don’t own mental health issues with children—it’s sadly far too prevalent in our teens and many parents know the pain of supporting our children’s’ struggles, so your arrogance is gross and out of touch. There is no way any parent who has experienced this struggle with their own would actually question and dismiss another child’s struggles, because if you truly are a parent who supposedly has had multiple children in a mental health crisis NO way you’d ever be so insensitive as to presume to know better than a child and/or parent in the midst of it. Because if this is true you would obviously know every child and situation is different. Just stop with the holier than thou and know it all attitude—your child’s and your experience is different than every other.
And why is it “disgusting” to lump everything together? That’s just bizarre. Why should any child have something taken away that can actually help them—sports, student government, band, theater, math team, robotics, etc.? Why is it only athletics apparently and why is that ok? Either provide a comprehensive change or none at all.
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