S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4385

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 3, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. MORELLE, ORTIZ, ROBINSON, ZEBROWSKI, ESPAILLAT,
  BOYLAND, EDDINGTON, WEISENBERG --  Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M.  of  A.
  DESTITO,  FIELDS,  GORDON,  HOOPER,  PARMENT, PERRY, PHEFFER, SWEENEY,
  TOWNS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to promote interscholastic athletic programs and competition that
  provides equal opportunities to all students on basis of  athleticism,
  sportsmanship and performance

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as  the  "fairness
in high school athletic competition act".
  S  2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that interscho-
lastic athletic programs promote positive social, physical and  academic
development  in  students. Furthermore, students who excel at interscho-
lastic sports may be  afforded  athletic  scholarships  and/or  weighted
consideration  when  applying to colleges. Since this system allows such
benefits for athletic excellence, the methods by  which  interscholastic
athletic competitions are conducted must provide equal opportunities for
all  students  to  compete.  No  priority should be given to students or
school programs, with regard to representation at interscholastic  cham-
pionship  events,  based  on geography or any other factors unrelated to
the standards of athletic competition and sportsmanship. Any system  for
determining  participation  in championship events, which is utilized by
the public schools of the state of New York, must be accountable to  the
student  athletes,  and  provide  a fair opportunity to compete based on
athleticism, sportsmanship and performance in qualifying events.
  The legislature finds that the current system utilized by  the  public
schools  of  the  state of New York does not meet this standard. For the
purposes of high  school  sports,  the  state  is  divided  into  eleven
sections.  These  regions  consist of a number of schools, which compete
within a single section, for rights to represent that section in  higher

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08182-01-9
              

A. 4385                             2

level   championship   events.   The  sections,  however,  are  severely
disproportionate, and for certain sports representation at  championship
events  favors  athletes who compete in sections with fewer schools. The
legislature  further  finds  that talented athletes, who may rank at the
top of statewide  standings,  are  unable  to  compete  in  championship
events,  while  lesser athletes from smaller sections have qualified. In
some sports, these students are disenfranchised by their geography,  and
an inadequate system used to determine qualifying athletes.
  Additionally,  the  legislature  finds that, outside of New York city,
the public schools of New York state participate as members of  the  New
York  state public high schools athletic association. The organizational
structure of the New York state public high schools athletic association
does not allow for equitable representation of its voting members  based
on  the  number  of schools each voting member represents. Each section,
regardless of the number of participating schools per sport,  shares  an
equal  voice  in  deciding championship standards. The legislature finds
that this disproportionate representation unfairly discriminates against
student athletes from larger sections.
  The legislature intends, by enactment of this act,  to  require  equal
opportunity  for  high  school  athletes  to participate in championship
events, that is based solely on athleticism, sportsmanship and  perform-
ance  in qualifying events.  It is the intent of the legislature to have
this act only apply to individual state or  intersectional  championship
athletic  events  not included in the New York state public high schools
athletic association five class system. It is also the intent that  this
act  shall not apply to those interscholastic athletic qualifying events
for state or intersectional competition  where  a  statewide  qualifying
time or distance is used.
  S  3.  No  system for determining participation in championship inter-
scholastic athletic events shall be used by the public  schools  of  New
York state, unless such system provides a fair and equitable opportunity
for students to participate in championship events based on athleticism,
sportsmanship  and  performance  in qualifying events.  Furthermore, any
system implemented must defer from using a  geographically  based  entry
format, unless such system applies a multiple-entry format that provides
proportional representation of the geographic regions or sections.  This
section  shall only apply to interscholastic qualifying events for indi-
vidual state or intersectional championships not  included  in  the  New
York  state  public high schools athletic association five class system,
and shall not apply to those interscholastic athletic  state  qualifying
events where a statewide qualifying time or distance is used.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.