A bill is moving through the Legislature to allow schools to join the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) on a per-sport basis rather than requiring schools to join all sports, much to the chagrin of the FHSAA.
HB 31, sponsored by Rep. Ross Spano, R-Dover, would make some changes to the current FHSAA regulations. At the present time, any school wishing to become a member of one FHSAA sport must become a member of every FHSAA sport.
On top of changing the requirements for admission to the FHSAA, the legislation would also limit special event fees, sanctioning fees (including third-party sanctioning fees), and annual contest receipts collected by the FHSAA. The bill would limit these fees only to cover the operational costs of the FHSAA and nothing more.
“It’s the revenues from those postseason games that go to pay for all the sports,” Roger Dearing, executive director of the FHSAA told a Senate committee last month. “So if they’re not going to contribute any money on the postseason games but still expect us to oversee the expenses for tennis and golf and soccer and all those, that’s where that part comes in.”
Dearing expressed concerns over that aspect of the legislation since big sports like football and basketball tide the organization over for less popular sports.
Smaller schools, say supporters of the legislation, miss out and suffer due to the FHSAA’s current regulations. Because they aren’t as large as other high schools, smaller schools often can’t build teams for the sports and thus can’t join the FHSAA. Supporters also say the proposal would allow schools greater choice in which sports they want to participate in with the FHSAA.
Spano’s bill would also allow any school, public, private schools, charter schools, virtual schools and home educational cooperatives to join the FHSAA.
The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education Thursday morning.
Officially sanctioned FHSAA high school sports include 14 different athletic activities, including football, basketball, girls’ volleyball, golf, soccer and track and field.
According to the FHSAA, the organization currently serves over 260,000 athletes within its 32 total sports, sponsoring 3,396 championship series games through which 139 teams and 294 individuals are crowned state champions in 32 sports each year.
Each year, over 2,000 student-athletes experience winning a championship and over 800,000 students are “extended opportunities to receive lessons in leadership, sportsmanship and citizenship” through their participation in high school sports.
FHSAA documents say there are 703 senior high schools that are members of the association for the 2015-2016 academic year. There were 796 full member schools as of Sept. 30, 2015.
The Senate version of the FHSAA bill will be heard at the Senate Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education Thursday at 11 a.m.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
