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IA SF265
IA SF265A bill for an act implementing requirements related to organizations that sponsor or administer extracurricular interscholastic athletics, including the creation of a conference realignment committee.(See SF 446.)
summary
Introduced
02/11/2025
02/11/2025
In Committee
02/11/2025
02/11/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
91st General Assembly
Bill Summary
This bill implements requirements related to organizations that sponsor or administer extracurricular interscholastic athletics, including the creation of a conference realignment committee. The bill defines “extracurricular interscholastic athletics” as a contest or competition for sports between different school districts or accredited nonpublic schools and outside the regular scope of a school district’s or accredited nonpublic school’s curriculum. Additionally, the bill defines “organization” as the Iowa high school athletics association and the Iowa girls high school athletic union, or their successor organizations. The bill provides that on or after July 1, 2025, a school district shall not expend any moneys, and an accredited nonpublic school shall not expend any moneys originating from the state, to pay dues or membership fees to an organization, and the school district or accredited nonpublic school shall not be a member of, participate in activities associated with, or receive services from an organization unless the organization establishes, in combination with each other organization, a committee known as the conference realignment committee that is tasked with taking action to bring about reasonable conference affiliation and relationship for member high schools pursuant to requests submitted by member high schools; develops and implements a policy that prohibits the organization from changing the extracurricular interscholastic athletics conferences unless the conference realignment committee ordered the organization to make such change; requires the organization to develop an expedited review and implementation process for certain specified orders received by the committee; requires member schools to offer at least one extracurricular interscholastic athletics activity for boys and at least one extracurricular interscholastic athletics activity for girls in all seasons; prohibits member schools that withdraw from an extracurricular interscholastic athletics conference, without approval, from competing in any conference for two years and from competing in a tournament sponsored by an organization in the same activity for two years. The bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules to administer the bill’s provisions.
AI Summary
This bill establishes new requirements for the Iowa high school athletic association and the Iowa girls high school athletic union related to extracurricular interscholastic athletics conferences. Starting July 1, 2025, schools can only be members of these organizations if they establish a conference realignment committee composed of 18 members (nine superintendents and nine activities directors) from different geographical regions of the state. This committee will have the power to review and approve conference changes for member schools, considering factors such as school enrollment, travel distances, program comparability, and traditional rivalries. The bill requires schools to offer at least one extracurricular athletics activity for both boys and girls in each season and prohibits schools that withdraw from a conference without approval from competing in the same activity or tournaments for two years. The committee must develop an expedited review process for conference membership changes, provide recommendations when requests are denied, and review conference alignments at least every two years. Schools can appeal committee orders to the state education director, and the state board of education is tasked with adopting rules to implement these provisions, ultimately aiming to create more reasonable and student-beneficial athletic conference arrangements.
Committee Categories
Education
Sponsors (2)
Last Action
Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 446. S.J. 369. (on 02/26/2025)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=SF265 |
| BillText | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/91/attachments/SF265.html |
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