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Gov. Kay Ivey and Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter filed a court motion Friday opposing the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s request to dismiss their lawsuit against the AHSAA. The governor and speaker sued the AHSAA on Sept. 4 to challenge an AHSAA rule that made students who transfer to an AHSAA member school using funds from Alabama’s new CHOOSE Act ineligible for athletics for one year. They later filed an amended complaint adding a parent and 14-year-old who plays football at a private school as plaintiffs. The AHSAA says the judge should toss out the case because the governor and speaker have no legal standing to challenge the AHSAA rule. The CHOOSE Act, passed in March 2024, is a new school choice program allowing families to use public funds for private school. The program gives families up to $7,000 per student and has nearly 24,000 participants this year. The AHSAA says students receiving the CHOOSE Act assistance fall under the organization’s longstanding rule on financial aid, which requires students who transfer to an AHSAA member school and receive financial aid to sit out sports for one year. “This policy, established by our member schools, promotes competitive equity and deters recruitment,” the AHSAA has said. Ivey and Ledbetter, however, say the CHOOSE Act legislation specifies that students’ athletic eligibility will not be affected by the use of CHOOSE Act funds. The AHSAA, in its motion to dismiss the case, says that point is “subject to debate.” For now, the rule is not being enforced. On Sept. 5, Montgomery County Circuit Judge J.R. Gaines granted the request of Ivey and Ledbetter for a temporary restraining order blocking the AHSAA from enforcing the rule while the case is pending. Ivey called that ruling “a victory for common sense.” The AHSAA says the judge should dismiss the case because Ivey and Ledbetter do not have standing to challenge the AHSAA rule because they do not have a “real, tangible interest” since they are not students affected by the rule or parents of those students. Ivey and Ledbetter, in their motion filed Friday, said they have legal standing to bring the lawsuit based on their elected positions - Ivey as the state’s chief executive, and Ledbetter as the leader of the Alabama House. “Governor Ivey’s mission is to simply let the kids play, and she refuses to stand by while the AHSAA unfairly and unlawfully discriminates against CHOOSE Act student-athletes,” Gina Maiola, Ivey’s communications director, said in an email. “In today’s court filing, the governor and speaker push back against the legal technicalities the AHSAA has raised to avoid accountability.” Two weeks ago, AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon met with representatives of the AHSAA’s 58 private school members to discuss ongoing issues, including the CHOOSE Act. “We were able to share meaningful dialog and ideas as we move forward,” said Harmon, who initiated the meeting.
