Joshua attended Bondurant-Farrar High School during his freshman and sophomore years. He attended Dowling during his junior year. He had academic problems and would have been ineligible academically for sports at the beginning of his senior year. He lived with his parents until the summer of 1996, during which he was stopped for an alcohol-related offense and lost his driver's license. He moved into an apartment in West Des Moines. Joshua was eventually enrolled in a substance abuse program at Cornerstone and he dropped out of Dowling on September 23, 1996. Joshua attended a program for at-risk students at the Academic Achievement Center, which is associated with the Des Moines Area Community College. It is not a high school. He continued to live in his apartment until January 1997. Mr. Birchmier tried to convince Joshua to go back to Bondurant-Farrar High School. He felt it would be better for Joshua to attend a traditional school since he was thinking of attending college. Josh enrolled in Bondurant-Farrar on January 29, 1997.

While attending Bondurant, school official told Josh that he could not practice with the soccer team because he was ineligible for sports. On May 1, 1997, the Birchmiers ask the IHSAA to grant permission for Joshua to participate in athletics. On May 15, 1997, the Board of Control ruled him ineligible. The appeal followed. Mr. Birchmier asserted that there was a difference in treatment between students transferring from public to nonpublic schools and those trans-ferring from nonpublic to public schools. He also pointed out that Joshua attended a substance abuse program and the eligibility rules contain an exception in rule 36.15(3).

In Joshua's case, he moved from his parents' home to an apartment and then back. He also participated in a substance abuse program. However, his changes in residence were not caused by his participation in the program and did not occur at the same time. Therefore, this exception would not apply.

There is no eligibility rule which specifically fits this situation. Joshua did not transfer from one school district to another school district. The standard to be applied in Joshua's case is the best interest of education. The uniform application of a standard which says that when a student changes schools, he or she is ineligible to complete in athletics for 90-school days.

That the decision of the Board of Control made on May 15, 1997, denying eligibility to Joshua Birchmier for 90 school days was affirmed.