Judge temporarily blocks Alabama rule saying voucher students can't play sports for a year

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge on Friday sided with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and blocked a policy that prevented school voucher recipients from playing on sports teams this fall.

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.

“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.”

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.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The association had ruled that the CHOOSE Act provides a type of financial aid. The organization said it has a longstanding rule that any transfer student who receives financial aid “is ineligible for athletic participation for one year.”

“This policy, established by our member schools, promotes competitive equity and deters recruitment,” the organization wrote in a statement Thursday.

Alabama is among a number of states using vouchers, tax credits or scholarships to parents to help families pay for private school or education costs outside of the public school setting.

This school year 23,429 students are participating in the CHOOSE Act program. More than half, or 14,587, attend private schools, according to numbers from the Alabama Department of Revenue. A little more than 7,000 are homeschooled and 1,442 students are in public schools.

Most families participating in the program were already enrolled in private school or were being homeschooled last year.