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Senate Education Committee advances study of interscholastic athletics after public concern over LHSAA
Summary
The Senate Education Committee voted to report House Bill 406 favorably, a measure directing the Department of Education to study regulation and the direction of interscholastic high school athletics. A public commenter warned the study should not be a pretext for dismantling the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and raised funding‑loss concerns; the chair called the measure a study, not an abolishment.
The Senate Education Committee on the record moved House Bill 406 to be reported favorably after a public comment session in which a former principal urged the study be impartial.
House Bill 406, authored by Representative Mike Johnson, would add a provision to Title 17 requiring the Louisiana Department of Education to conduct a study on the direction and regulation of interscholastic high school athletics and to report findings to specified legislative committees by March 1, 2027. Miss Roberts read the bill summary to the committee.
Christine Rountree, who identified herself as a retired principal and past member of the LHSAA study committee, testified in opposition and said the study must remain open‑minded. She told the committee she reviewed task‑force recordings and that “one specifically stated that it was his ultimate purpose to despolish the LHSAA committee,” and cautioned that the bill’s language — which conditions certain funding on compliance — could be used as a threat against public schools. “It specifically states that schools that receive MFP or state funding would lose funding for noncompliance,” she said, calling that consequence “a threat that does not seem to be unbiased.”
Chair responded to the testimony by stressing that the measure is a study and not a proposal to abolish the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. The chair told the committee the legislature expects agencies to follow statutes and that the bill’s purpose is to examine issues through the task‑force process. The chair moved HB 406 to be reported favorably, and, with no objections, the committee approved that motion.
Why it matters: The bill does not itself change governance or funding; it directs a formal review by the Department of Education and requires a written report to legislative education and appropriations committees. Testimony at the hearing raised concerns about how study findings could be used and the possibility that funding consequences already written into the bill’s text could affect school operations. The committee did not vote on any statutory changes during the hearing; the measure was forwarded as a study for further work.
Next steps: HB 406 will be reported favorable out of the committee and proceed in the legislative process with the study and report deadlines noted in the bill text.
