COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio high schools have finally embraced a new plan intended to level the playing field between public and private schools, modifying how schools are placed in tournament divisions in eight team sports.
Similar plans previously were voted down three times. This one passed by a vote of 411-323 with three abstentions. It will take effect during the 2016-17 school year.
Enrollment has been the only factor in deciding a team’s division in tournament play. Now, each athlete’s educational-system history and where their parents reside also will be considered.
The new rule applies only to boys football, soccer, basketball and baseball and girls soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball.
If the parents of a player live in a public school’s district or the player attended a designated feeder school during 7th and 8th grade, the player will be assigned a factor of 0.
Students whose parents live outside a public school district but where the athlete has been continuously enrolled since 7th grade, the player will receive a factor of 1. That also applies to public districts where the student’s parents live outside the district, but the student has been continuously enrolled in the district since 7th grade. It also applies to private school athletes who attended the same school system since 7th grade but did not attend the feeder school continuously.
A factor of 2 is a “sport specific” factor which is applied when a student’s parents rive outside a public school district and the student has not been continuously enrolled since 7th grade or when a private school student did not attend the same system continuously since 7th grade.
A Level 2 factor means each player on a particular roster will be multiplied by 2 for football, 5 for volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball, and 6 for soccer.
After the rosters are adjusted using the Level 0, 1 or 2 factors, they will be used to generate an “additional roster count,” under which a school could be moved up one tournament division.