The Florida House has approved an overhaul of the state's system governing high school athletics, but in the Senate, some key lawmakers warn the bill could have unintended consequences that could hurt the students it sets out to help.
Supporters say the bill is intended to prevent high school sports and other extracurricular activities from becoming a barrier to school choice. It easily passed the House Wednesday in a vote that broke largely along party lines, though several Democrats supported it, and a couple Republicans voted no.
Diaz
One of the bill's goals is to prevent students from being declared ineligible just because they switch to schools outside their assigned zone. Sponsor Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, said a baseball scholarship helped him pay for college, and that high school sports can benefit students in other ways, like allowing them to bond with adult mentors. For that reason, he said, students shouldn't be unfairly sidelined.
"If parents have a choice of making a decision on their child's education, we should not stop those children from participating," he said.
Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, is a vocal supporter of school choice, and said he understands the sentiment behind the push to overhaul a sports governing system that has not caught up to its spread in Florida.
But he voted against a version of the legislation in committee, and said in an interview that he is worried the bill could sideline disadvantaged students.
If students have more freedom to move among school for athletic programs, he said, affluent parents would be most likely to move their students to schools with sought-after athletic programs. That, in turn, could displace students who already attend those schools. (more…)
Florida's system for regulating high school sports has become a perennial issue in the state Legislature. This year some key lawmakers are looking at it from a new angle: Is the organization that governs high school athletics in the state prepared for a system in which students increasingly choose magnet programs, career academies, charters and other options outside their zoned schools?
The Florida High School Athletic Association has a strict anti-recruiting policy, which it says is intended to ensure fair competition and protect student athletes from "unscrupulous" coaches.
The policy can sideline students who change schools for athletic reasons. The governing body counts charter, private and virtual schools among its members, and it allows students to remain eligible for varsity sports if they leave their zoned school for academic reasons. Sports can't enter into the equation.
Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, told the House Education Committee on Wednesday that he was concerned students enrolling in choice programs could fall into a "gray area," where the association could flag their moves to schools outside their neighborhood zones as recruiting violations, "as opposed to a more holistic decision by the parent."
