COVID-19 creates high school free agency

While professional sports team owners fought against it for years, free agency has become a common part of the game.

Colleges have made it easier for players to transfer to other schools, creating a type of free agence at that level.

In a way, fee agency had reached the high school level in Iowa when open enrollment was instituted.

Now the situation with the coronavirues and Iowa schools being allowed to play baseball and softball this summer has created another level of free agency.

According to the Director of Department of Education, Dr. Ann Lebo, an order to waive participation requirements for student-athletes in the school districts of Belmond-Klemme and Eagle Grove (also the Meskwaki Settlement School) for the summer of 2020 only has been granted. Lebo's decision waived participation requirements for student-athletes from the districts for the 2020 season. Thursday Lebo announced that baseball and softball players from the Belmond-Klemme and Eagle Grove school districts can play for any other school in the state this summer, as long as a program will accept them.

Meskwaki Settlement, Eagle Grove and Belmond-Klemme decided to not hold a summer sports season in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. The three schools have said they will not field teams this summer. The Belmond-Klemme School District announced Dr. Lebo's order on its Facebook page on Thursday afternoon.

The Belmond-Klemme school district is about 70 miles north of Ames, 18 miles west of Interstate 35 while Eagle Grove is about 30 miles east of Fort Dodge. Meskwaki Settlement School is in Toledo, 24 miles north of Interstate 80 on Route 63.

While players can play anywhere, no school is required to accept them. The cost of transportation from the student-athlete's home to their new team will fall on the student-athlete and their family. Furthermore, a student athlete's competition for a host school will not impact the school's classification status. The student also must return to their original school after the season, or be declared ineligible.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union voted unanimously in late May to allow schools to conduct baseball and softball after Gov. Kim Reynolds gave her OK.

On May 21st, just one day after baseball and softball were approved by the IGHSAU and IHSAA, the Belmond-Klemme Community School Board of Directors voted unanimously to not sponsor summer sports. At the time, they were the first school in the state to take such an action.

On Tuesday, one day after baseball and softball practice got underway for much of the state, fellow Wright County School, Eagle Grove, took the same action. The Eagle Grove vote was much closer at 3-2, but still was a ‘no' for summer sports.

Thursday, the Belmond-Klemme Community Schools confirmed to Forest City radio stattion KIOW that their's, Eagle Grove's, and athletes from the Meskwaki Settlement School would be allowed to play baseball and softball with any school that they choose. The condition is that whichever school they choose, will have to accept them.

'A high school student-athlete who is otherwise eligible to compete in a summer sport during the summer of 2020, but whose school is not offering summer sports, may be permitted to compete for any other member school – without a period of ineligibility,” Lebo said in her statement.

No member school or associate member school is compelled to serve as a 'host school” or compelled to allow student-athletes who are subject to this waiver to compete for that school's summer sports teams.

The students will be required to return to their original school following the summer season.

'If a student-athlete does not return to the Original School at the conclusion of the summer sports season, the student-athlete shall serve a period of ineligiblity as required by Iowa Administrative Code Rule 281-36.15, subrules (3) and (4), unless an exception in one of those subrules applies,” Lebo said.

Athlete's competition for the school they play for will not be considered for school classification purposes.

This propsed waiver is solely for the summer of 2020 and is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated school closures.

Local school district can make the determination to cancel their season at any time. If concerns are raised regarding the number of COVID-19 cases, the respective county or state department of health can cancel the school's season or the entire baseball/softball season.

The Iowa Department of Education produced extensive safety guidelines, which coaches and players, as well as fans and parents, must follow.

If the Department of Public Health advises any school that thae game is not to be played, it is considered a ‘No Contest.' If a school chooses on its own to not play the contest, the game will be considered a forfeit.

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