Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to allow public high schools in same school district to enter into cooperative sports programs if schools are unable to field varsity teams individually.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain Statewide interscholastic sports programs and supplementing chapter 11 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association shall allow public high schools in the same school district to enter into a cooperative sports program for any sport at the varsity level, regardless of the member schools’ Group classification, if either of the schools demonstrates an inability to field a team at the varsity level due to: a decline in interest or participation in the sport at one of the schools that impacts the ability of that school to safely field a team; or budgetary constraints which force the elimination of certain sports programs at one of the schools.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) to allow public high schools in the same school district to enter into a cooperative sports program for any sport at the varsity level if either of the schools demonstrates an inability to field a team at the varsity level due to: a decline in interest or participation in the sport at one of the schools that impacts the ability of that school to safely field a team; or budgetary constraints which force the elimination of certain sports programs at one of the schools.
Under the current rules of the NJSIAA, schools are prohibited from entering into cooperative sports programs for basketball, baseball, softball and spring track, and in football if one of the schools is classified as a Group III school. This bill requires the NJSIAA to allow the schools to enter into cooperative sports programs regardless of the sport or the member schools’ Group classification.
This bill helps to ensure that all students within a school district have equal access to certain extracurricular programs regardless of which school in the district they attend.