A bill that would overhaul Florida’s system governing high school athletics for an “era of school choice” remains alive after passing its first state Senate panel Wednesday.
The proposal by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, would place new limits on the operations and recruiting investigations of the Florida High School Athletic Association.
It would also require proportional representation of parents from schools of choice on its governing board, and stipulate that a student’s choice of educational options cannot be a barrier to participation in extracurricular activities.
One of the main concerns – though others were raised by members of the Senate Education Committee in at times sharp rhetoric – was that under existing rules, student athletes can face recruiting allegations, and be barred from taking the field, if they move from one high school to another.
The recurring controversies around sports and extracurricular activities may seem trivial, but Stargel said, “those things make for a well-rounded child.”
“I would say a lot of what the Florida High School Athletic Association does is good,” she said. “There’s a few areas where they just seem to not be understanding that we do have an era of school choice in the state of Florida. We do have many opportunities for our children to have many places they can go to school.”
High school parents, coaches and administrators spoke in support of the FHSAA. They warned student athletes can be exploited by unscrupulous coaches who recruit student athletes to their teams.
“It’s my opinion, after the ninth grade, the vast majority of the kids that transfer have been recruited,” said Earl Garcia, a longtime football coach at Hillsborough High School in Tampa. “If it’s open season on transfers, we’re not going to stop recruiting. It’s going to be an impossibility.”
The bill passed on a 6-5 vote with opposition of Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, who chairs the committee. He said Stargel had “identified the correct problem,” but he disagreed with some of the proposed solutions.
Similar House legislation has cleared all its committees and is ready for a vote on the floor. The Senate bill still faces an uncertain path with just over two weeks remaining in the nine-week legislative session. However, several members who supported the bill noted these battles over high school athletics have become a perennial issue in the Legislature. Similar issues could resurface if they’re not addressed this year, or even if they are.
