S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3252
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 24, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MORELLE, ORTIZ, ROBINSON, ZEBROWSKI, BOYLAND,
WEISENBERG -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DESTITO, HOOPER, 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 the basis of athleti-
cism, 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.
LBD05365-01-1
A. 3252 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.