- 1. A pupil who transfers from a school to another school is immediately eligible to participate and practice in any sanctioned sport or other interscholastic activity or event at the school to which the pupil transfers if the pupil, or a parent or legal guardian of the pupil, submits to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association a request for a waiver of any period of ineligibility based on transferring schools, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association approves the request pursuant to this section and the pupil is otherwise eligible to participate and practice in the sanctioned sport or other interscholastic activity or event. If the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association does not take action on a request submitted pursuant to this section within 30 days after the request is submitted, the request shall be deemed approved.
2. The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association shall approve a request submitted pursuant to subsection 1 if the pupil, or the parent or legal guardian of the pupil, establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the pupil transferred to the school because:
- (a) Of the order or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction that directly or indirectly results in the pupil transferring schools, including, without limitation, any order issued pursuant to chapter 432B of NRS.
- (b) The pupil was a victim of assault or bullying at the school in which he or she was previously enrolled and the assault or bullying was likely to continue if the pupil had remained enrolled at the school, as established by evidence submitted pursuant to subsection 3.
- (c) The pupil was enrolled in an academic program or a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corp Program that was discontinued by the school in which he or she was previously enrolled.
- (d) The pupil was a member of a team that participates in a sanctioned sport that was diminished or eliminated due to budgetary or administrative decisions for the school from which the pupil is transferring.
- (e) The pupil is in the custody of an agency which provides child welfare services, as defined in NRS 432B.030, and changes residences as a result of a change related to his or her placement.
- (f) The pupil is a homeless pupil, as determined by a school pursuant to NRS 388.205, and has changed residences.
- (g) The parent or legal guardian was discharged or released from the uniformed service under conditions other than dishonorable and the pupil is returning to the school in which the pupil was previously enrolled or is transferring to a school in a school district in which the parent or legal guardian of the pupil resides.
- (h) The pupil was required by the board of trustees of a school district to transfer, and the decision of the board of trustees was not disciplinary.
(i) The transfer is in the best interest of the pupil because of a mental health or emotional condition, as documented by a letter from:
- (1) The school counselor at the school in which the pupil is enrolled; and
- (2) A physician licensed pursuant to chapter 630 or 633 of NRS or a licensed psychologist.
- (j) The immediate family of the pupil is experiencing financial hardship, as verified by documentation of the financial status of the parent or legal guardian of the pupil, which may include, without limitation, documentation specifically relating to the status of the pupil as a homeless pupil under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, 42 U.S.C. §§ 11301 et seq.
(k) The school in which the pupil was previously enrolled or the school district within which the school is located provided the public with notice stating that the school:
- (1) Will close permanently; or
- (2) Will be closed temporarily for purposes relating to a renovation or repair of the school.
3. A request made pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 2 must be accompanied by evidence of one or more substantiated incidents of assault or bullying of which the pupil who is the subject of the request was a victim. Such evidence may include, without limitation:
- (a) Documentation produced by the school where the pupil was previously enrolled, the school district in which that school was located or law enforcement; and
- (b) The testimony of witnesses or law enforcement.
4. The rules and regulations of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association adopted pursuant to NRS 385B.060 must provide for adequate review procedures to review and determine whether to approve requests submitted pursuant to subsection 1. The review procedures must include, without limitation:
- (a) The review of a request submitted pursuant to subsection 1 by the Executive Director, or such staff of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association as the Executive Director may designate, and the approval of such a request, without a hearing before a hearing officer pursuant to NRS 385B.100, if the request and documentation submitted with the request establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the pupil is eligible for the waiver pursuant to subsection 2.
- (b) Upon the filing of a written appeal with the Executive Director pursuant to NRS 385B.100, the review by a hearing officer appointed pursuant to NRS 385B.100 of a decision denying a request submitted pursuant to subsection 1 and the conduct of a hearing before that hearing officer not later than 60 days after the date on which the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association received the request pursuant to subsection 1.
5. As used in this section:
- (a) “Financial hardship” does not include the loss or reduction of a scholarship, grant or other financial assistance provided for the purpose of enabling a pupil to attend a private school.
- (b) “Homeless pupil” means a homeless child or youth, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2).
(Added to NRS by 2025, 1798)