A judge on Friday sided with Alabama governor Kay Ivey and blocked a policy that prevented school voucher recipients from playing on sports teams this fall.
As reported by The Associated Press, Montgomery circuit judge J.R. Gaines issued a temporary restraining order barring the Alabama High School Athletic Association from enforcing a policy that says the voucher recipients are ineligible to play sports during their first year at a new school.
Ivey and Alabama House speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter had asked for the restraining order after filing a lawsuit challenging the association’s decision over student eligibility. The order blocks the AHSAA’s CHOOSE Act rule while the lawsuit proceeds in court.
“Today’s order is a victory for common sense,” Ivey said in a statement. “Every child deserves true choice in their education and that includes their right to participate in school athletics.”
According to the AP, more than 20,000 students are participating in the state’s new voucher program, called the CHOOSE Act, which went into effect this school year. It allows eligible families to tap up to $7,000 in state money to help pay for private school or to transfer to a public school, and up to $2,000 for homeschooling expenses.
“I am incredibly grateful that the court sided with Alabama’s student-athletes and restored their right to compete,” Ledbetter in the statement. “The bottom line is that no person or entity’s opinion is greater than the rule of law. Every student deserves to have the opportunity to participate in athletics, and with this action, affected students can get off the sidelines and back into the game while we continue fighting to ensure a level playing field.”
