The stage is being set for a major showdown between the Alabama Legislature and the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) next session as officials and lawmakers continue to clash over school choice.
The AHSAA issued a new rule in August stating that transfer students who accept CHOOSE Act funding must sit out a year before competing in athletics. That rule is currently on hold due to an injunction tied to a lawsuit filed against the AHSAA by Gov. Kay Ivey and State House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville).
On a recent episode of "1819 News: The Podcast," Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth heavily criticized the AHSAA for their decision to double down on the rule, which he said will likely be struck down in court.
"What they're doing is trying to dilute school choice and use sports to do that," Ainsworth said. "I can tell you this, my kids play sports. I got twin boys that are sophomores. They'd be crushed, right, if they couldn't play. And the fact that we're penalizing families in this state to do that, that's why you saw such an uproar, right?"
He said the AHSAA needs to be under the authority of the Legislative Council and have new, "normal" people on the board.
"The thing that's frustrating to me, and I want you all to understand, the governor's office, our office, the speaker's office … we said, y'all are breaking the law, by the way. One, we don't agree with it; two, you're breaking the law," he said. "And then they said, OK, we're going to hold an emergency meeting. Well, in my mind, they're going to fix what they did. They came out and doubled down and said, no, we're not going to allow this. That's why you saw the governor file an injunction. I said, OK, we're going to take you on, we're going to change this, and we're going to put normal people on the board to where we can have oversight over this group, and we're going to make sure that — oh, by the way, they don't know what's coming yet, if you're watching, here it comes — we're going to make sure that Legislative Council has authority over what they're doing, because the Alabama High School Athletic Association right now is dangerous because there's no accountability, and they're sitting there breaking the law. The judge is going to strike it down, there's no doubt, right, because it's clear."
He continued, "We're not trying to get schools to recruit, but I mean, let's be honest, that goes on even in public to public right now. And so what we want to do is just have a fair playing field. And the idea on school choice is the parent decides what's best for the child, and they shouldn't be punished by having to sit out a year… Most people aren't going to make a living in sports. It teaches life lessons, right? And so I think it's real important we allow students to play, and we have things in place to protect where you can't recruit, and you can't do that. But it was frustrating on that, but we're going to get that solved with the legislature. That's a longer-term fix because there's a lot of problems with the Alabama High School Athletic Association. We need to get some other people involved throughout communities that are parents, right? That, you know, maybe aren't necessarily coaches, that all they care about is making sure that they win their game, and that's maybe not always the best perspective. So we're going to work on that and get it done."
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