BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter are pushing back against the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s request to dismiss the state’s lawsuit over a rule that would sideline some CHOOSE Act students for a year if they transfer to a member school.
In a court filing Friday, Ivey and Ledbetter objected to the AHSAA’s motion to dismiss, arguing the association is relying on “legal technicalities” to avoid accountability.
“Gov. 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,” Ivey spokesperson Gina Maiola said in a statement.
“In today’s court filing, the governor and speaker push back against the legal technicalities the AHSAA has raised to avoid accountability.”
The filing comes in response to the AHSAA’s Oct. 2 motion to dismiss the suit, claiming Ivey and Ledbetter lack standing to sue because they are not directly affected by the rule.
A hearing on the motion is set for Nov. 21, the same week as the third round of the state football playoffs.
Ivey and Ledbetter argue their official roles as governor and speaker give them authority to act on behalf of Alabama families.
They first sued the AHSAA on Sept. 4, challenging its July 2024 decision that students using CHOOSE Act education savings accounts are receiving financial aid and must sit out one year of athletics after transferring schools.
The next day, Montgomery County Circuit Judge J.R. Gaines issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the rule while the case proceeds. The rule remains on hold.
On Sept. 19, Ivey and Ledbetter filed an amended complaint adding the parent of an affected student and asked for a preliminary injunction to prevent punishment of schools that allowed CHOOSE Act recipients to play. The judge has not ruled on that request.
The CHOOSE Act, approved by lawmakers in March 2024, provides up to $7,000 per student in public funds for private school tuition or other educational services. Nearly 24,000 students were deemed eligible, and about 12,500 are using them at a participating private school this year.
Association leaders say their rule on how financial aid impacts eligibility aims to preserve competitive balance and deter recruiting among schools. It’s unclear how many high school athletes transferred schools using CHOOSE Act funds – making them subject to the rule.
Ivey and Ledbetter say the rule contradicts the law, which they say ensures that a student’s athletic eligibility will not be affected by use of CHOOSE Act funds.
Lawmakers have signaled growing frustration with the AHSAA. Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, said in October that the AHSAA made itself irrelevant by refusing to work with state leaders on the issue.
Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth has said he plans to propose legislation to “strip AHSAA of its power and give it to an entity that will follow the law.”
The AHSAA has until Nov. 14 to reply to Ivey’s latest filing.
The Nov. 21 hearing is expected to determine whether the case moves forward – and could help decide who ultimately sets athletic eligibility rules for schools participating in Alabama’s new school choice program.
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