Legislators Press LHSAA on Confidential Memo, Transparency and Transfer Rules

Lawmakers on a special legislative study committee pressed the Louisiana High School Athletic Association on Nov. 12 over transparency and eligibility rules, warning that failure to reach workable policies could prompt legislation.

Committee chair opened the meeting by saying the session was informational and that no votes would be taken, but members expressed frustration after learning LHSAA’s executive director and staff were not present. "We're not taking any action. There's no votes today. This is simply informational," the chair said at the start.

The immediate focus was a confidential internal memo circulated to member principals that committee members described as a "call to action." Several legislators said the memo had been shared with school staff and principals and that its tone risked antagonizing lawmakers. Representative Cox said parents and education officials began receiving calls within hours of House Concurrent Resolution 24 being filed and told "Representative Cox is gonna have legislation trying to take over the LHSAA," a claim he said was false and likely directed by someone within the association.

Mark Boyer, LHSAA’s outside counsel, told the committee he provides legal services through a firm and estimated LHSAA has about a dozen staff members. On the public-records question, Boyer stated, "The LHSAA is not subject to public records request," and explained that custody of many student records resides with local school systems. Several lawmakers pressed whether that legal status should change for member schools that accept state MFP (Minimum Foundation Program) funds.

Senator Seabaugh criticized LHSAA more broadly, saying the "quality of the product on the field in this state is atrocious compared to what it was 20 years ago," and urged the association to collaborate more with lawmakers and principals.

The Department of Education’s state superintendent, Kaye Brumley, and her chief of staff, Ken Bradford, explained the department’s limited operational role in athletics but stressed the department follows state law. Brumley said the agency would execute any statutory direction the Legislature provides. Bradford noted two areas the department regulates (coach injury training under BESE bulletin provisions and AED/CPR requirements under state law) and described his role as LDOE’s designee on LHSAA’s executive committee.

Much of the hearing returned to the "one-time transfer" debate: whether to permit broader transfers for student athletes, how to prevent recruiting or undue influence, and how to preserve competitive balance. Bradford said the convention and executive-committee processes have produced some rule changes (for example, provisions tied to the Gator scholarship and home-study participation), but that a broad, unrestricted one-time transfer failed at last January’s convention.

Lawmakers urged principals and the LHSAA membership to craft concrete proposals the association could put to a vote at the January convention. Representative Fontenot told principals he would prefer a membership-led policy solution to statutory action: "If you guys can get five or seven principals together and say these are the things we absolutely can live with, these are the things we think could never pass, and bring that to us, we can examine it."

The committee noted the report deadline for the study is Feb. 14, 2026, and scheduled a wrap-up meeting for Dec. 8 to gather more documentation and any proposals principals wish to submit. Chair closed the hearing, thanking principals, superintendents and Department of Education representatives for their time.

The committee did not take formal action at the Nov. 12 meeting; members said they expect additional briefings, and several lawmakers warned that statutory options remain on the table if the association and its membership do not deliver a workable policy framework.