Judge extends ruling, allows student in sport

A state judge has extended the temporary restraining order he issued to allow a recent transfer student to continue to play basketball for Kapolei High School.

The parents of Kapolei junior Jalen Miller are suing schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto and the Oahu Interscholastic Association over the OIA’s transfer rule.

The rule, which took effect July 29, 2015, says that a student who transfers from a Hawaii public high school to an OIA school must sit out a year before participating in a sport in which the student participated at the previous school. The rule allows students and parents to apply for an exception but does not provide a list of exceptions.

Before the enactment of the OIA rule, transfers involving students at Oahu public schools were governed by the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Transfer Rule. The HHSAA rule does not require students to sit out a year if they transfer to a public school in their home district.

The Millers live in the Kapolei school district, but Miller attended and played basketball at Mililani High School last year. According to the family’s lawsuit, Miller received a geographic exception to attend Mililani because his father worked there.

The Millers claim that Earl Miller’s employer, BAYADA Home Health Care, has since transferred him to the company’s Leeward district office and can no longer transport his son to Mililani.

Jalen Miller’s parents filed their lawsuit Nov. 2 seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the OIA from enforcing the one-year ban. Circuit Judge Dean Ochiai issued a TRO, which was set to expire Tuesday, the day he had scheduled a hearing for a preliminary injunction.

After meeting privately with lawyers for both sides, Ochiai rescheduled the injunction hearing to Dec. 11 and extended his TRO to that date. Until then, Miller is free to practice with his Kapolei teammates and play in preseason games. The OIA boys basketball regular season starts Dec. 23.