Bills would make high school athletic associations more open
The Georgia and Pennsylvania legislatures introduced billsthis session that would require their states’ interscholastic athleticassociations to abide by state open-records and open-meetings laws.
The GeorgiaEquity in Sports Act would deny education funding to high schools whoseinterscholastic sports are regulated by athletic associations not adheringto Georgia open-meetings and open-records statutes. The bill targets theGeorgia High School Association, which oversees high school sports andother extracurricular activities.
The bill passed both houses of the legislature and has been sent toGov. Roy Barnes.
The billin the Pennsylvania Senate would force the Pennsylvania InterscholasticAthletic Association to adhere to state open-meetings and open-recordsstatutes. The athletic association, representing 1,300 schools across thestate, has been under fire for several years by the bipartisan Senate SpecialCommittee on Interscholastic Sports. The committee has said the organizationlacks accountability and misuses its power. The bill would revoke mostof the association’s substantial powers.
In April, the bill was in the senate education committee.