A Texas UIL rule change will bar foreign exchange students from participating in varsity athletics beginning the 2006-2027 school year.
The rule was approved by the UIL legislative council and still needs the approval of state education commissioner Mike Morath. The change will not affect those students wanting to participate in sub-varsity athletics or other activities the UIL oversees such as music and academics.
The UIL’s legislative council is the rule-making body and is comprised of 32 public school administrators, some of whom expressed concern about schools getting a possible advantage when foreign exchange students receive a waiver to play at the varsity level.
According to Aaron Hood, superintendent of Robert Lee ISD north of San Angelo, Texas kids cannot go to school in a neighboring town and play at the varsity level without moving there, noting that foreign exchange students are allowed to get on a plane and come across to our state and play immediately, taking the place, many times, of a community kid that has worked hard to get that position on an athletic team.