Boston councilors press BPS on student‑athlete transfer process after family, coach accounts of missed season

The Boston City Council Committee on Education on March 24 examined how Boston Public Schools reviews student‑athlete transfers and applies Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) eligibility rules, following public concern that a Charlestown High senior lost his final season after a transfer was ruled ineligible.

Chair Julia Mejia opened the hearing on docket 0166 by saying the goal was to assess whether the system "works in a way that supports students and does not unintentionally disadvantage them." The session included public testimony from a coach, the student and his mother, and detailed explanations and questioning of BPS athletics officials.

Hugh Coleman, a longtime BPS teacher and basketball coach, told the committee a student transferred from Madison Park High School for academic and special‑education reasons and later was declared ineligible after the sending school asserted the transfer was motivated by athletics. "Because of those allegations ... he was unjustly not allowed to play this year, his senior year," Coleman said, describing long delays and a lack of family outreach.

Student Amir Mohammed, who identified himself as a Charlestown High senior, said he was never interviewed and that his mother received no meaningful notice about why he could not play. "My mom never received any notice and I didn't understand why I was denied," he told the committee, adding that a November phone call had no…