The AHSAA decision that forced a lawsuit by Governor Kay Ivey

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Governor Kay Ivey is taking the Alabama High School Athletic Association to court. This comes after the association implemented a rule sidelining athletes who utilize the CHOOSE Act, a tax credit students can use to transfer schools.

The Governor said in a press release that she is committed to seeing all Alabama students have a fair chance on the playing field. And, House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) is joining Governor Ivey in that lawsuit.

Other leaders said the rule is against the law, but the AHSAA said otherwise.

The AHSAA provided the following 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.
    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.
This rule:

• Does not affect first-time 7th grade enrollees

• Does not apply to students continuously enrolled for more than one year

   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.

Rep. Patrick Sellers (D-Birmingham) disagreed.

“I was like, ‘wow’,” he said. “That’s not necessarily what we passed. So, you know, there will probably be, I would assume that there will be some level of oversight that will take place for the Athletics Association.”

By law, Sellers said the CHOOSE Act can’t impact eligibility.

“If the kids have the ability, which is the law to move or go from school ‘A’ to school ‘B’ for whatever reason, it should not infringe on their eligibility to play,” he said.

However, Rep. Curtis Travis agreed with the association.

“These things that we’re doing are supposed to be about academics,” explained Travis. “Because, at the end of the day when it’s over with, a student athlete- very few of them will play at a professional level where they actually earn or are able to be successful at that level.”

Rep. Travis said students shouldn’t transfer schools based on athletics.

“If there’s some student who thought they could go to another school, and this would give them some competitive advantage by doing that, I feel sorry,” Travis said.

Speaker Ledbetter said in a statement, “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.”