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• Suit charges Louisiana district should impose higher academic standard required of cheerleaders on other student-athletes [HTML 2,077kb]
  According to the Advocate, the father of a Lafayette High basketball player has filed suit against the Lafayette Parish School Board (LPSB), demanding it raise its expectations of student-athletes like his son.
  
• Title IX suit proceeds after Illinois board rejects proposed mediation offer [HTML 3,424kb]
  The Peoria Journal Star reports a Title IX suit against Canton Union School District 66, which claims the district doesn't treat boys and girls sports teams equally, is proceeding toward trial after the school board voted against a proposed mediation offer.
  
• Florida High School Athletic Association settles Title IX suit [HTML 2,085kb]
  The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has entered into a settlement agreement with a group of parents who brought a Title IX suit, reports the Associated Press in USA Today. FHSAA will pay $41,200 in legal fees as part of the settlement.
  
• Suit says Indiana district’s girls basketball schedule violates Title IX [HTML 4,445kb]
  The Palladium-Item reports that former Franklin County High School girls basketball coach Amber Parker filed a suit in federal court, on behalf of her daughters, alleging that it is discrimination to schedule boys basketball games on weekend nights and make girls play half of their games on school nights.
  
• Tennessee schools ready to comply with heat policy for sports teams [HTML 3,807kb]
  Football coaches at Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) member schools plan their upcoming preseason and after-school practice schedules, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.
  
• Virginia district’s athletic programs facing Title IX scrutiny by feds [HTML 3,350kb]
  The Washington Post reports that C.D. Hylton High School in Prince William County is under investigation by federal officials for sex discrimination, joining two Maryland school districts in Charles and Frederick counties and 47 other school systems nationwide that are under scrutiny for possible disparities between their softball and baseball facilities.
  
• Florida parents sue over shortening of all athletic seasons except football’s [HTML 2,894kb]
  According to Florida Today, a group called the Florida Parents for Athletic Equity (FPAE) has filed a lawsuit in state court against the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), alleging FHSAA’s decision to reduce the number of games for sports except football violates Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination in school programs based on gender.
  
• Delaware schools focus on preventing inappropriate relationships between coaches and students [HTML 4,436kb]
  The Delaware News Journal reports on several cases involving male coaches having inappropriate relationships with female student-athletes. The story quotes one longtime coach as saying inappropriate relationships between male coaches and female student-athletes are more common than parents might think.
  
• Alabama Senate committee rejects bill on home-schoolers in extracurriculars [HTML 2,171kb]
  An Alabama Senate committee has defeated a bill that would have allowed home-schoolers to participate in extracurricular activities, writes the Mobile Press-Register.
  
• Massachusetts bill seeks to make cheerleading safer [HTML 4,570kb]
  Representative Peter J. Koutoujian is to file a bill in the Legislature this year that would create a committee that could recommend ways to make cheerleading less dangerous, reports the Boston Globe.
  
• Wisconsin athletic association sues newspapers over broadcast rights [HTML 4,172kb]
  The Lakeland Times of Minocqua, Wisconsin, reports that the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) has filed suit against the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) and one of its most powerful members, Gannett Co. Inc., for making available what WIAA says was an illegal webcast of a WIAA playoff football game last fall.
  
• Utah bill would allow private school and home school students to play on public school teams [HTML 3,135kb]
  A bill that would allow home-school and private-school students participate in sports and activities at public schools has passed a Senate committee despite arguments that it could give home-school students an unfair advantage, writes the Salt Lake Tribune.
  
• California district struggles to pay legal fees from Title IX suit [HTML 2,005kb]
  The Ramona school district has been scrambling to find a way to pay almost $325,000 in attorneys' fees and costs to Ramona High softball parents who sued in 2007 because boys had a better baseball facility, the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.
  
• Pittsburgh school system to audit athletic programs for gender equity [HTML 3,319kb]
  Prompted by Susan Frietsche, senior staff attorney with the Women's Law Project, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) is auditing its athletic programs to determine compliance with Title IX’s gender equity provisions, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  
• Texas state board increases graduation credits for sports [HTML 2,005kb]
  The Dallas Morning News reports that the Texas State Board of Education (TBOE) has approved a measure that will allow four years of sports to count as elective credits toward graduation, instead of the current maximum of two years.
  
• Female baseball player in Indiana sues to play on boys’ team [HTML 2,665kb]
  Logan Young, a student at Bloomington South High School, has filed suit in federal court challenging an Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) rule that prohibits her from trying out for the high school baseball team because of her gender, the Associated Press reports in the Washington Post.
  
• Oregon athletic association issues guidelines for managing concussions [HTML 2,144kb]
  The Oregonian reports that the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) has adopted new guidelines for managing concussions.
  
• MD law allows disabled athletes to complete alongside their able bodied peers [HTML 1,009kb]
  The Washington Examiner reports that Maryland recently enacted a law that guarantees disabled students the right to race or play alongside students in mainstream athletics, unless their participation endangers the players.
  
• Proposal would give Texas student-athletes additional credits for sports participation [HTML 2,873kb]
  According to the Dallas Morning News, a high school football coach has presented a proposal to the Texas State Board of Education (TBOE) that would allow student athletes to receive twice as much credit toward graduation, i.e. four years of sports to count for credit instead of two.
  
• Illinois mandates random drug testing of athletes, including for steroids [HTML 3,689kb]
  The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has joined a small but growing number of states to implement mandatory random drug-testing for student-athletes. Its Board of Directors voted 10-0 to begin testing with the 2008-09 school year.
  
• Oregon school hopes for reversal in recommendation to eliminate American Indian mascots [HTML 1,936kb]
  Banks High School (BHS) in Banks, Oregon is hoping that the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) will reverse an advisory committee recommendation, made last summer, to eliminate mascots depicting American Indians at all publicly funded Oregon schools in two years.
  
• Texas and Florida on verge of mandating random steroid testing [HTML 3,647kb]
  A year after New Jersey became the first state to mandate random steroid testing for high school athletes, Texas and Florida are on the verge of launching their own testing programs, and Illinois may not be far behind.
  
• Florida high school athletes subject to random testing for anabolic steroids [HTML 1,571kb]
  One percent of Florida high school athletes in weight lifting, baseball, and football will be subject to random testing for anabolic steroids under a one-year pilot program that has been approved by the state legislature and that Governor Charlie Crist indicates he will sign into law.
  
• NCAA passes legislation against prep schools [HTML 3,043kb]
  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has quietly passed legislation to continue its fight against prep schools that require minimal academic study.
  
• Texas poised to mandate random drug testing for steroids for high school athletes [HTML 2,604kb]
  Texas is poised to become the first state to enact a law requiring high school athletes to undergo random drug testing for steroids.
  
• Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association v. Brentwood Academy [HTML 4,876kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association v. Brentwood Academy, Docket No. 06-427, which involves the issue of whether the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) violated the free speech rights of a member private school by sanctioning the school for violating rules against recruiting athletes.
  
• Supreme Court schedules oral arguments in Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association v. Brentwood Academy [HTML 1,954kb]
  The case concerns whether the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) violated the free speech rights of a member private school by sanctioning the school for violating the association’s rules against recruiting athletes.
  
• Supreme Court has agreed to review Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association v. Brentwood Academy [HTML 2,991kb]
  The authors of the First Amendment’s freedom-of-speech clause might be surprised to learn that in the 21st century, it is being invoked to protect a private school football coach from being punished for recruiting eighth-grade boys from other schools for his team.
  
• Illinois High School Association considers random steroid testing [HTML 3,547kb]
  The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is considering random testing for steroids and growth hormones in state finals for football, basketball, track, and other selected sports.
  
• Rosemount High School denies charter school student's request to participate on football team [HTML 2,522kb]
  Rosemount High School (RHS) in the St. Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area has denied a charter school student's request to participate on its football team.
  
• NCAA lists 16 more schools whose credits do not count toward eligibility for college athletics [HTML 2,660kb]
  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has added 16 more schools to its list of high schools whose academic credits will not count toward a student's academic eligibility for college athletics.
  
• New Jersey adopts statewide steroid testing policy [HTML 2,717kb]
  The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) has adopted a statewide steroid testing policy for student-athletes from member schools.
  
• NCAA releases a list of non-public schools that have engaged in fraud [HTML 3,467kb]
  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has released a list of non-public, non-traditional schools that its investigation concludes have engaged in abuse and academic fraud.
  
• Frisco High School to test its student-athletes this fall for steroid use [HTML 1,646kb]
  Frisco High School (FHS) in Collin County, Texas will begin testing its student-athletes this fall for steroid use as part of the school's random drug testing policy for student-athletes.
  
• Private school's wrestling coach files suit after his team is barred from competing in tournament [HTML 1,514kb]
  A private school's wrestling coach has filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) after his team was barred from competing in a MPSSAA sanctioned tournament because there are home schooled students on the team.
  
• Utah bill would create uniform rules on home schooler participation in public school extracurriculars [HTML 2,248kb]
  A Utah state legislator has introduced a bill that would create uniform rules governing home schoolers' eligibility to participate in public school extracurricular activities.
  
• New Jersey bill would allow disabled students attending private schools that lack athletic teams to participate on their home school district teams [HTML 1,854kb]
  The New Jersey legislature's education committee has approved a bill that would allow disabled students attending private schools that lack athletic teams to participate on athletic teams in their home school district, provided the student meets the eligibility requirements of the program and has written approval from the home school's principal.