With many schools undergoing budget cuts, some student athletes are facing pay-to-play regulations. But a group of Kentucky athletes discovered there is such a thing as "stay-to-play."

In August, six Lexington baseball players left Bryan Station High School to transfer to archrival Henry Clay High School under provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind law. It allows students at poorly performing schools to switch to better-performing public schools.

But after transferring, the students discovered that federal law allows the move, but does not override state athletic eligibility regulations. In Kentucky, varsity athletes whose families don't change residence generally cannot transfer from one school to another and be immediately eligible for sports. The baseball players learned they'll have to sit out a season before taking their positions on the diamond.

A fair warning

This is a hard lesson for six young men, but fair warning for all public school parents. No Child Left Behind is unfolding - as promised - as a complex piece of legislation. It offers new educational opportunities, but doesn't always mesh with state or local rules and requirements. As we see, sometimes kids get caught in the middle.

So is "stay-to-play" fair? Well, it's legal. State athletic associations have the right to set their own rules for athletic participation, and the U.S. Department of Education encourages them to maintain their current rules.

Families must be informed

While educational option is a right under No Child legislation, taking part in sports has always been a privilege. But whether that's "fair" is a much harder matter.

We hope no student athlete will be forced to choose between academic quality and athletic opportunity, but, for now, that is clearly a possibility. On one hand, families have always had to determine their priorities before they settled on a school system or private or parochial school. Now, however, families will have to be even better educated about their choices.

Beginning in junior high, schools provide families with clear rules on eligibility, and state athletic associations almost always list them on their Web sites. In this matter, the best advice is the oldest advice: Make sure you do your homework.