Governor Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) are seeking an injunction against the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA).
The action comes after the AHSAA issued a ruling requiring student-athletes who transfer to sit out for one year before competing in athletics solely because the student participates in the state's new Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education Act (CHOOSE Act).
After extensive dialogue with state elected leaders, the AHSAA Board of Directors held an emergency meeting on Thursday, September 4, to consider reversing its ruling and restoring the eligibility of thousands of student-athletes utilizing the CHOOSE Act.
Despite being provided clear proof that their rule violates state law, the board voted against doing so, according to Ivey and Ledbetter.
“We wrote and passed the CHOOSE Act to give every child a true choice in their education, and that very much includes participation in athletics,” Ivey said. “I remain in strong opposition to the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s decision to sideline CHOOSE Act participants from competing in school sports and am committed to seeing all Alabama students have a fair chance on the playing field. Speaker Ledbetter and I have jointly filed a lawsuit to reverse this wrong.”
Ledbetter said, “The AHSAA issued this ruling without consulting a single policymaker or even attempting to gain clarity on the intended interpretation of lines 162–165 in Act 2024-21, which clearly state the CHOOSE Act will not impact the eligibility of student-athletes.”
“For the AHSAA’s leadership to take such drastic action just as football season begins tells me they are not concerned with the best interests of all student-athletes. While I fully expect members of the House and Senate will take a hard look at how the AHSAA operates in the upcoming session, this situation demands action today. My hope is the court will side with our student-athletes and not allow this organization to wrongfully take away their opportunity to compete,” Ledbetter said.
The 2024 law provides up to $7,000 to a participating student in an education savings account to use on tuition, fees, and education expenses. The 2025-2026 academic year is the first year the school program is available to students.
Ron Ingram, an AHSAA spokesperson, told 1819 News in a statement, “The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) reaffirms its unwavering commitment to fairness, consistency, and member-driven governance in light of recent legislative developments.”
“Effective July 2024, the CHOOSE Act — like the Accountability Act before it — was formally recognized in the AHSAA Handbook as a form of financial aid. Under longstanding bylaws, any student who transfers to a member school and receives such aid is ineligible for athletic participation for one year. This policy, established by our member schools, promotes competitive equity and deters recruitment,” Ingram said. “Early drafts of the CHOOSE Act explicitly protected AHSAA’s eligibility rules. However, the final version omits the word“rules”, introducing ambiguity. Following legislative review and confirmation that both Acts function identically, our interpretation remains unchanged and legally sound. Both are considered financial aid. Under AHSAA rules, students receiving such aid are ineligible for athletic participation in their first year following a transfer. The AHSAA Central Board today confirmed this interpretation.”
According to AHSAA, the rule:
• Does not affect first-time 7th grade enrollees
• Does not apply to students continuously enrolled for more than one year
Ingram continued, “The statehouse video (2:50:29 mark) shows that when the amendment was passed, the discussion confirmed that the legislation would not affect the eligibility rules of the AHSAA.”
“We welcome thoughtful dialogue through appropriate channels and remain committed to preserving the integrity of high school athletics in Alabama. Our responsibility is to enforce the rules as adopted by our member schools through a transparent, democratic process. The AHSAA will have no additional comment at this time,” Ingram said.
The AHSAA’s statement referenced an amendment offered on the House floor during debate on the school choice bill. State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville), the House sponsor of the legislation, told 1819 News, “The amendment that was offered that was added in the bill basically said, ‘The CHOOSE Act does not impact eligibility.’ The comment was made, ‘This doesn’t impact their rules.’ Well, at that time, there was no CHOOSE Act passed, the CHOOSE Act was not in their rules. So, the context of that conversation was, ‘The CHOOSE Act is not going to be a loophole around their rules.’ Their rules say the Accountability (Act) is one of their items listed as financial aid.”
“After the CHOOSE Act passed, they went back in their rules and added financial aid to that section of the CHOOSE Act. The CHOOSE Act is not financial aid. It doesn’t operate like the Accountability Act. It’s not the same concept. It’s not the same mechanics of that and the comment that was made on the floor referred to the existing rules they had which didn’t have the CHOOSE Act. The CHOOSE Act hadn’t passed. Again, they added after the fact that the CHOOSE Act was financial aid and it’s not,” Garrett said. “It’s a redirection of tax dollars to follow the student.”
“Now, once you get those CHOOSE Act funds, you’ve got to comply with all their rules. They’re basically choosing to ignore what we put in the law and what all those people I just mentioned have told you the intent of the law was to say, ‘No, our bylaws say that’s financial aid.’ The bottom line is they disagree with the policy so that’s why they’re making this decision,” Garrett said.
State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) told 1819 News, “I can not help but think that this stance is somehow related to the educrats that make up this board.”
“They’re typically more liberal and anti-school choice and I have to think that this is driving this because there’s no other reason to take this stance there’s really not. School choice is the law of the land and allowing these kids to play regardless of their receipt of CHOOSE Act dollars is absolutely the law of the state of Alabama, there’s no question,” Elliott said.
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