By Brandon Lorenz, Missouri News Network
The House on Thursday passed and sent to the governor a bill that creates an oversight commission for appeals by high school athletes governed by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
SB 863, sponsored by Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, would “establish the ‘Interscholastic Athletic Oversight Commission,’ a board of directors appointed by the governor to hear appeals of certain decisions made by statewide activities associations.”
“MSHSAA is pleased with the outcome of Senate Bill 863,” the organization said in a news release. “This bill is a workable solution and a far cry from the extremely damaging bill that sat on the Senate floor in February and March.”
As originally introduced, the bill would have allowed the board to have broader oversight of the association, including appeals for all eligibility, all contests and contest producers or any rule changes.
The final version only addresses decisions to be made on appeals of athletic related decisions within football, baseball and other sports. When signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, the governmental body will have the final say on all athletic rulings.
“The voices of our member schools, coaches and directors associations, education partners, and many other Missourians were clearly heard, and that collective input helped shape a more favorable result,” MSHSAA said in its statement.
The board will be made up of five members, all appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the Senate.
The bill got initial hearings in the Senate in February and was passed April 13. While in the House, bills need a “handler,” a representative that will help guide the bill through the House. Rep. Bennie Cook, R-Houston, was tasked with that responsibility for this bill.
“I hope this achieves where parents and students have another board, and that’s what it’s going to be. Another board where they can appeal their issues to, if they feel that they’ve been wronged by the MSHSAA board,” Cook said. “This is another option for them, that won’t cost them an arm or a leg. Right now, the other option is the court system.”
A similar bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Mark Meirath, R-Excelsior Springs, and was tied into this bill string in March. Meirath’s bill would have created a “transfer board” that would have three members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, three members appointed by the president pro tem of the Senate and one member appointed by the governor.
“If (parents or athletes) are going to appeal, then they’re going to have to go all the way through what’s currently on the MSHSAA bylaws,” Meirath said. “Then it comes, if they choose, to the oversight committee. It has nothing to do with the organization within MSHSAA. It has everything to do with making sure there’s true oversight.”
Some confusion brewed on the House floor as Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, and Cook discussed the bill. In one part of the final version of the bill, there is a line that does not include the word “athletics.”
“When I read (this part) I do not see it specifically aimed at athletics,” Steinhoff said, “so it could apply to scholar bowl, it could apply to the music side of MSHSAA, it could apply to all of the things MSHSAA does.”
“I get the feeling that was not the intent of the bill because the name of the commission is ‘the athletics commission,’ so I’m wondering if we are intentionally allowing appeals to all the other parts of MSHSAA?” Steinhoff asked.
Cook did not directly answer the question, responding that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was going to be involved in the future of this bill and some of the decision making.
Once signed by Kehoe, this law will go into effect Aug. 28.
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