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HF 189

A bill for an act relating to the eligibility of students enrolled in nonpublic schools to compete in extracurricular interscholastic athletic contests or competitions provided by public schools, and including effective date provisions.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Allows nonpublic school students to participate in public school athletics if a district and nonpublic school agree and criteria are met, with equal fees and eligibility rules.

Explanations of votes.
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Bill Summary · HF 189

Summary — HF 189 (Chapter 137, 2025)

Status: Enacted (Governor signed June 6, 2025). Introduced Jan 30, 2025. Passed House and Senate (House concurrence with Senate amendment), enrolled and approved. Key dates: section creating new §280.13D took effect on enactment (June 6, 2025); amendment to §280.13 takes effect August 1, 2025.

Purpose

HF 189 clarifies and expands when students enrolled in nonpublic (private) schools may participate in extracurricular interscholastic athletic contests or competitions offered by public school districts, sets requirements for organizations that sponsor such contests, and establishes short-term protections for school athletic classifications.

Key provisions

  • New §280.13D — Nonpublic student participation in public‑school athletics

    • A public school board must permit a student who resides in the district (or in a contiguous district) and attends a nonpublic school to participate in extracurricular interscholastic athletics offered by the district if there is an agreement between the district board and the nonpublic school authorities and all of these criteria are met:
    • The specific contest/competition has not been offered by the nonpublic school during the two immediately preceding school years (and, for contiguous‑district residents, also not offered by the student’s district of residence during those two years).
    • The nonpublic school has not already entered into an eligibility agreement under §280.13A with another district/nonpublic/charter school for that contest/competition.
    • Fees: If the district charges participation fees, the nonpublic student (or parent/guardian) must pay the same fee amount charged to district students; fee cannot exceed district‑student fee amount.
    • Nonpublic students participating under §280.13D are subject to the same participation conditions as district students (including the district’s code of conduct).
    • Participation under §280.13D counts as satisfying residence requirements under §256.46.

  • Amendments to §280.13 — Organization registration, enrollment counting, and temporary classification protection

    • “Organization” (entities that sponsor/administer interscholastic athletics) must register with the Department of Education, file financial statements as prescribed, and comply with State Board of Education rules on administration, eligibility, scheduling, etc.
    • When such an organization calculates school enrollment for classification purposes, it must count the enrollment of another public or nonpublic school that allows students to participate under §280.13A or §280.13D as one‑fourth of that other school’s grades 9–11 enrollment (per most recent basic education data).
    • Temporary protection for football classifications: from enactment through June 30, 2027, organizations may not change a school district’s or nonpublic school’s football classification (as previously established) due solely to the number of students who participate in football through a district under §280.13D. (This provision repeals July 1, 2027.)

Who is affected

  • Students enrolled in nonpublic (private) schools who reside in a district (or contiguous district) — gain a pathway to join public‑school interscholastic sports when their nonpublic school does not offer the sport.
  • Public school boards — must enter agreements and allow eligible nonpublic students to participate under the specified conditions.
  • Nonpublic schools — must cooperate on agreements and cannot simultaneously have other eligibility agreements for the same contest.
  • Athletic organizations/associations and classification authorities — new registration/financial reporting duties and modified counting rules for enrollment/classification; a temporary moratorium on football reclassification tied to §280.13D participants.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • New participation section (§280.13D) took effect immediately upon enactment (June 6, 2025).
  • Changes to §280.13 (registration, counting, and the temporary football rule) take effect August 1, 2025.
  • The temporary football classification protection expires (is repealed) July 1, 2027.

Potential impacts (practical)

  • Increased access to public‑school athletics for nonpublic students where their school does not offer specific sports.
  • Possible administrative workload for districts negotiating agreements and for organizations complying with registration/reporting.
  • Classification counting rule (counting outside enrollments as 1/4) and the temporary football freeze limit immediate reclassification effects on schools whose rosters gain nonpublic participants.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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