Missouri lawmakers are proposing a substantial change to the Missouri State High School Athletics Association as the organization approaches its 100-year anniversary.
According to KCTV 5, Senate Bill 863, introduced by Jason Bean on Feb. 3, lawmakers seek to strip MSHSAA of its independent governance and hand control over to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
This change in oversight would include the creation of a “five-member Interscholastic Athletic Activities Oversight Board appointed by the governor.” It would also require all school payments to MSHSAA to be filtered through that board, banning schools from paying the governing body directly, and give the state government direct access to MSHSAA’s financial records.
“For a century, our member schools have governed their association,” said MSHSAA executive director Dr. Jennifer Rukstad. “It is time to fight for the future of high school sports and activities in our state.”
Originally, the MSHSAA had negotiated a bill in coordination with lawmakers that would have allowed the state government to create an independent appeals board. Rukstad said that plan felt like a compromise. The organization was not expecting that plan to be thrown out the window.
“We learned just before the start of the day’s session in the senate that in fact there was a substitute bill about to be introduced and that it would be for total takeover of the Missouri State High School Activities Association,” said Rukstad.
On top of the pending legislation, the state Attorney General, Catherine Hanaway, has filed a federal lawsuit against the MSHSAA, claiming the organization violated anti-discrimination laws.
According to KOMU, the lawsuit claims “MSHSAA discriminated on the basis of race and sex by refusing to consider a nominee for a leadership position based on their race and sex.” The candidate in question, while unnamed, was identified as a white male.
Per the MSHSAA’s constitution, the board is comprised of 10 members. Eight of those members are designated from specific geographic regions and two of those members are meant to represent an “underrepresented gender (…) or ethnicity.”
"All qualified individuals remain fully eligible to serve through the eight geographically elected seats that make up the majority of the Board," MSHSAA wrote in a statement when the lawsuit was first threatened in November. "The at-large positions simply provide another avenue for service within a longstanding, member-driven governance structure."
While the MSHSAA awaits progress on the federal anti-discrimination lawsuit, Senate Bill 863 is still on the calendar with state lawmakers.
