Governor, House Speaker seek injunction against AHSAA over CHOOSE Act

MONTGOMERY – High school student-athletes have become a political football regarding eligibllity under the state’s CHOOSE Act.

To that end, Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) are seeking an injunction against the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

According to Ivey and Ledbetter, this 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).

“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,” said Ivey.  “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.”

However, in a statement, the AHSAA said, “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.”

The AHSAA Board of Directors met today on the policy and reaffirmed their position.

“Early drafts of the CHOOSE Act explicitly protected AHSAA’s eligibility rules. However, the final version omits the word ‘rules’, introducing ambiguity,” the organization said. “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 the AHSAA, the rule:

• Does not affect first-time 7th grade enrollees
• Does not apply to students continuously enrolled for more than one year, to consider reversing its ruling and restoring the eligibility of thousands of student-athletes utilizing the CHOOSE Act.

“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,” Ledbetter said. “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.”