FHSAA changes financial policy for private schools, moves on shot clocks

The Florida High School Athletic Association approved a financial assistance policy change benefiting private schools and took further steps toward adopting a basketball shot clock during Monday’s board of directors meeting in Gainesville.

The board unanimously approved several policy changes submitted by the eligibility and compliance department , which included adding language permitting schools to provide merit scholarships and tuition-reduction programs.

“We found that a lot of our private schools are offering merit-based scholarships remission and tuition reduction, so we are proposing to permit that as long as it is totally unrelated to a student’s athletic performance, potential or interests,” said Jordanne Stark, the FHSAA eligibility and compliance coordinator.

Per Policy 38.1.1.2: A member school may provide merit scholarships remission based on a student’s academic performance, or other achievement, provided scholarship is not based even partially on the student’s athletic interest, potential or performance. A member school may provide tuition reduction programs, provided the reduction is not based even partially on the student’s athletic interest, potential, or performance and the reduction is applied consistently to each student who meets the criteria.

“Previously, everything had to be need-based through a financial-needs assessment company,” Stark said. “We found that a lot of our private schools [already] had these programs.”

Shot clocks

The board unanimously approved the optional use of basketball shot clocks for the first time in postseason play — including state tournament games — and gave home teams sole authorization to use the 35-second timer in regular-season games.

The option to use shot clocks in playoff games will now require the approval of both teams. That mirrors what had been in place for the regular season.

Trevor Berryhill, athletic director at The Master’s Academy, expanded on that idea while presenting the plan that enables home teams to use shot clocks without the approval of opposing teams.

“Right now it’s optional, but I have to get the opponent coming to my school to agree,” Berryhill said before the vote. “I’d still like to make it optional in the regular season at your school, but when you come to [our] school and we want to use it, it’s required for our game.”

Berryhill said only two schools declined to use a shot clock when playing at Master’s last season.

“I feel this motion continues to get us closer to a required shot clock,” he added.

Other changes

A recommendation initially made by the soccer advisory committee creates an additional layer of data when state tournament teams are seeded for all team bracket sports, including football.

The board approved reseeding after regional tournaments by a 10-2 vote. The rankings used for seeding state qualifiers in recent years have only included regular-season and district-tournament games.

Also approved following lengthy discussion was an exception for football teams to attend one padded contact camp during the summer.

The camps must involve a minimum of four schools and last no more than three consecutive days. Other stipulations include equipment limitations, the presence of a certified athletic trainer and mandatory acclimation workouts of five days for players before participating in the camp.

A policy proposal that would allow transfers to play in spring football games was withdrawn by board member Ricky Bell, who cited a policy that is already in place.

“I just wanted to make sure that ADs and coaches know that there is an avenue [for players] to be eligible in the spring if they transfer,” Bell said.

FHSAA Policy 9.3.2.2 states that “a student may not participate in a sport if the student participated in that same sport at another school during that school year” unless the student is a child of active duty military personnel whose move resulted from military orders, have been relocated due to a foster care placement in a different school zone, moved due to a court-ordered change in custody, or “for good cause in district, private or charter school board policy.”

Discussions

Board member Ryan Smith, athletic director at The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens, reopened talk of an Open Division by presenting a plan for a double-elimination playoff tournament that would include the top eight teams among all classifications in each sport.

“I’ve had people reach out asking about what happened with the elite championship division, and my yearning here is to just get it back on the table for discussion,” Smith said.

At the request of the athletic directors advisory committee, conversation was had pertaining to Esports being recognized at some point by the FHSAA. A survey of member schools drew 425 responses, of which 55% said they’d be interested in participating if Esports is sanctioned.

Currently, 21 states sanction Esports, including Alabama and Georgia.

Florida Department of Education senior chancellor Kimberly Richey asked if any studies have been conducted about the impact of screen time for participants.

“I’m more asking about the negative impact, or positive impact, whichever, to the individual student being exposed and spending hours on any type of electronic device, similar to the reasons why the legislature considered bills this year limiting screen time,” Richey said.

This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com . Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com .