VIRGINIA NEWS – Lawmakers fail to curb sports recruitment in high school

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer 

Legislation attempting to crack down on high school athletic recruitment tactics by barring officials from using the “homeless” designation to lure student-athletes came to a halt Tuesday after it failed to advance at the session’s midpoint. Despite the setback, Dan Helmer claimed that the fight was not over. Helmer was a sponsor of House Bill 1656 which sought to prohibit school officials from accepting money or gifts to sway students’ decisions in transferring schools for athletic reasons. 

The push for reform in high school recruitment in Virginia has become stronger as mounting controversies in high school sports including a football team in Northern Virginia where a football team was found in violation of the state’s transfer rules. Helmer said that he had been negotiating on the issues with lawmakers throughout the state who have encountered and fought for similar reforms in their districts. This has signaled the potential for a revived effort. Helmer expressed his desire for statewide collaboration to create holistic policy. Helmer added that despite broad agreement about the need for change, crafting legislation to put a stop to the practice remains critical in his fight for new regulations.