A lawsuit filed by Alabama governor Kay Ivey, house speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and a Birmingham-area parent against the Alabama High School Athletic Association has been dismissed, after the AHSAA and its executive director Heath Harmon agreed in a settlement not to restrict a student from participating in sports based on his status as a "CHOOSE Act participating student."
As reported by Birmingham NBC affiliate WVTM, citing court documents filed Friday in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, the student is identified in the filings only as Z.H.2. His mother filed the suit alongside the state officials in September 2025.
Under terms of the settlement agreement, signed the previous day, the athletic association agreed it will not take any adverse action or retaliate against the student for his involvement in the lawsuit or for advocating to play sports, WVTM's Ryan Lovell reported, adding the agreement explicitly notes that the student must still follow all other standard athletic eligibility rules.
Following the settlement, the parties jointly requested that the court dismiss the case "with prejudice," meaning the lawsuit cannot be refiled. The agreement dictates that neither side will be required to pay the other's legal fees or court costs.
Per WVTM's Lovell, the months-long dispute began last fall when the AHSAA ruled that students transferring to new schools using funds from the CHOOSE Act, a state program creating education savings accounts for private school tuition, would be ineligible to compete in sports for one year. The association originally classified the state funds as a form of financial aid, which triggered a standard athletic ineligibility period.
In response, Ivey and Ledbetter took the AHSAA to court, arguing the association was unfairly sidelining students and violating the intent of the CHOOSE Act. A Montgomery County judge quickly granted a temporary restraining order, allowing affected students to continue playing while the case proceeded to mediation, according to Lovell.
"Tensions eased earlier this year when the AHSAA reversed its stance, announcing in January that financial aid and CHOOSE Act vouchers would no longer impact a student's athletic eligibility," Lovell reported. "State lawmakers further solidified the change in April when Ivey signed the 'Let the Kids Play! Act,' which legally prohibits athletic associations from denying eligibility solely because a student receives CHOOSE Act funds."
While the lawsuit has been dropped, all parties agreed that the Montgomery County court will maintain jurisdiction over the case strictly to ensure the settlement is enforced, Lovell added.
