Kambree Draper of Bismarck speaks during a legislative committee hearing on high school sports eligibility on Feb. 11, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By: Jeff Beach
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Parents of North Dakota high school athletes described how they had to let school administrators walk through the home they had just moved into, as well as the home they had moved from, and provide personal information to prove that their child should be deemed eligible to play at their new school.
One high school swimmer, Kambree Draper of Bismarck, said she was not allowed to compete at the varsity level because her father was still living in Williston after she and her mother moved to Bismarck.
Draper was testifying in favor of House Bill 1491, which would loosen eligibility restrictions for students who change schools. The bill says the North Dakota High School Activities Association “may not delay eligibility or limit eligibility based on the number of times a student moves and transfers to a different school district.”
“Take politics out of high school sports,” Draper told the House Education Committee on Tuesday.
Matt Fetsch, executive director of the North Dakota High School Activities Association, which has the final say on eligibility, said school districts support the current policy.
The policy includes a request for a hardship exemption to the association’s policy. Fetsch rules on those requests, which can be appealed to a board.
Fetsch said the association has approved 10 of 12 hardship requests so far this school year. The association’s bylaws give some examples of when hardships are granted, such as death of a parent or guardian, abandonments and exceptional emergencies.
Fetsch said the association in 2006 increased the length of time students must sit out when transferring from 90 to 180 days because schools felt the rule was “being abused for athletically motivated reasons.”
A parent who said his family’s hardship case was denied was Derek Hanson of Granville. His son transferred to a preparatory school in Utah to play basketball.
But after his transfer, Hanson said he was diagnosed with a heart aneurysm and is a candidate for a risky open-heart surgery. The family requested that his son be able to return home and play at the varsity level for his original school. Hanson said he provided medical records as part of the appeal, but the family was denied.
Hanson said he was told granting the hardship would set a precedent. Hanson said he understands that it would set a precedent, but that would be a good thing for families in his situation.
“The next family that has someone with cancer or ALS or stroke or injury, are you going to deny them as well? That’s the precedent you’ve set,” Hanson said.
Rep. Jim Jonas, R-West Fargo, a former teacher and coach, said he feared the bill would open up the recruiting of high school athletes and the chase for championships.
Susan Draper, the mother of Kambree, said one of the most important aspects of the bill is it specifies that it should be assumed there is no recruiting unless there is a complaint that the activities association can investigate.
“The student athlete should be given the benefit of the doubt, rather than having to prove themselves innocent,” she said.
Rep. Nico Rios, R-Williston, said he sponsored the bill to support the Draper family but would be willing to work with legislators on amendments to find a workable compromise.
He noted there was a similar bill in the 2023 session that was supposed to lead to a study, but the study never materialized.
The committee did not act on the bill.
Rep. Desiree Morton, R-Fargo, echoed comments from parents wanting more flexibility on a case-by-case basis.
“I question why we can’t use common sense on some of these issues and help these parents,” she said.