Florida House passes bill that could reshape high school athletics in Florida

EDITOR’ S NOTE: This article will be updated during the day as more information including pending quotes come in.

UPDATE 3:43 PM: Quotes from both Dr. Roger Dearing at the FHSAA and from Stuart Weiss at the Sunshine State Athletic Conference have been included in this article.

UPDATE 2:05 PM: HB 7137 has been referred to these committees in the Senate – The Education Pre-K-12 Committee; Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and the Apportions Committee for first readings.

The reshaping of high school athletics in Florida is one step closer to reality.

The Florida House of Representatives this morning voted in an overwhelming majority for the passage of the bill that will transform how high school athletics are regulated and change the structure of the governing body of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).

The bill – HB 7137 – was passed with 86 Yeas with only 29 Nays while five representatives didn’t vote.

HB 7137 calls for a variety of changes including how student-athletes are declared eligible, allow school sports teams to join a different association for different sports and make changes to the FHSAA Board of Directors are just some of the features of the bill. (You can read the full text of the bill as amended here).

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for review to where they can either vote to pass the bill as it is, refer the bill to a committee for consideration or defeat the bill on the Senate floor. However, SB 1480, which is in the process of a first reading is very similar in nature of HB 7137, but no word if that bill could be merged with the now passed House bill.

News of the bill passing in the House certainly had the Sunshine State Athletic Conference (SSAC), an independent sports conference composing of teams in football and in boys and girls basketball that are also members of the FHSAA, very happy.

“The Sunshine State Athletic Conference is encouraged about the passing of HB 7137.  This is a great step forward in giving coaches, parents and schools a voice in their sports and programs, by allowing them to choose where their programs are best suited. This allows for the greatest level of success for their student athletes. The Sunshine State Athletic Conference strives to unite like-minded organizations to offer a level playing field…allowing all schools and athletes to succeed. We would like to thank all of the legislators who have worked tirelessly to develop a common sense bill, incorporating comments and suggestions from all stakeholders, including FHSAA.  We look forward to success in the Senate as well.,” said Stuart Weiss, President of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference.

However, FHSAA Executive Director Roger Dearing was not particularly pleased about the passage of HB 7137.

“For over 95 years, the FHSAA has enabled student-athletes to participate on an equitable basis and receive vital educational benefits through sports. This bill ‘trumps’ academics with athletics and tosses good sense and fair play to the side. We should be focusing on how athletics supplement education, not determine it,” Dearing said in a press release sent to media outlets around the state. “Special interest groups focused on ‘Athletics First – No Matter What the Cost’ have prevailed in their influence on the Florida House. Instead of focusing on far more important issues in education, lawmakers are choosing to meddle in the business of a not-for-profit organization once again in an attempt to create “free agency” in high school sports. As the umbrella organization for interscholastic sports, the FHSAA has established a track record of developing rules of sportsmanship and fair play for all those who enter the sports arena. High School free agency is something we should all oppose.”

The FHSAA also announced that their next step is attempt to stop SB 1480 in the Senate which has the possibility of being taken up alongside in a possible vote with HB 7137 this week.

Join The Discussion: Sign up for a FREE user account | Discuss on our message boards here