State House and Senate pass Senate Bill 452 which would undermine control by NCHSAA over high school sports
Bill would hand control of high school athletics to Superintendent of Public Instruction and a board
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - In the middle of the night the State House, and Friday morning the State Senate, passed Senate Bill 452 which would basically dismantle the North Carolina High School Athletic Association as the governing body of high school sports in the state.
Senate Bill 452 aims to take the authority over high school sports and give it to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and a Board of Education elected officials.
The State Board of Education would now decide who is eligible to play sports for a bevy of categorical reasons.
It would remove NCHSAA control over appeals for students and parents regarding rules. They would no longer control health and safety rules. If it becomes law it would go into effect for the 2024-25 school year.
There has been great response of disapproval from the state organizations which keep high school athletics going.
NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said in a statement, “Today is a dark day for high school sports in North Carolina. This was a blindside tackle, and I am sorely disappointed in the actions of our state legislators. Any statement that would suggest that we have not honored our end of the current Memorandum of Understanding is grossly inaccurate.”
The North Carolina Athletic Directors Association said in a statement, “The NCHSAA comprises superintendents, principals, athletic directors and coaches at member schools... this legislation is specifically determined to remove these most qualified individuals from the process that determines who represents them in matters related to high school athletics.”
and the North Carolina Coaches Association said in a statement, “The North Carolina Coaches Association stands with and supports the NCHSAA. We firmly believe that the NCHSAA is the best organization for the administration and regulation of high school athletics in the state of North Carolina.”
It is up to Governor Roy Cooper now to pass this into law or veto it. The bill also includes regulations on insurance practices in the state.
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