New rules unfairly target SC’s private and charter high schools, lawsuit alleges
A lawsuit filed against the South Carolina High School League alleges that recently amended rules “intentionally and illegally discriminate” against the league’s private and public charter high school members.
The lawsuit was filed in Greenville County Court of Common Pleas 13th Circuit on Monday. There are 12 schools named as plaintiffs in the suit, including Gray Collegiate Academy from the Midlands. The Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, the membership organization for charter schools within the state., also is named as a plaintiff.
The lawsuit stems from by-laws and constitution amendments approved in March by the S.C. High School League regarding school-to-school transfers and athletic eligibility rules. Those changes “bar most students who choose to attend a public charter or private school from participating in League athletics for a period of one year from enrollment,” the Public Charter School Alliance said in a statement.
The State reached out to SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton and the league’s attorney, Michael Montgomery, seeking comment.
“It is unfortunate we had to intervene legally regarding these amendments. However, all other options have proven unsuccessful with the SCHSL,” Gray Collegiate principal Brian Newsome said in a statement. “We contacted and obtained supportive evidence from the State Attorney General (Alan Wilson). Nonetheless the SCHSL has continued to ignore the factual evidence that these amendments critically prevent parents from exercising their right to school choice, while limiting the athletic opportunities for their child. That is fundamentally unfair and unacceptable. As a high school principal, I have to be a voice for all students, and this is the only step to ensure equality for everyone.”
The four private schools that compete in the S.C. High School League are part of the lawsuit — Bishop England, Southside Christian, Christ Church and St. Joseph’s — as are other charter schools including Greer Middle College, Brashier Middle College, Greenville Technical Charter, Fox Creek, Oceanside Collegiate, Legion Collegiate and Palmetto Scholars.
The S.C. High School League has 206 members — that includes traditional public schools as well as 21 public charter schools and four private schools.
Newsome said the parties met with the SCHSL last month. They opted to moved forward with the lawsuit, he said, because of support from lawmakers such as Wilson, Gary Smith (R-Simponsville) and Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley).
Grooms in a statement said the SCHSL “has placed itself above the law. ... This is discrimination — on so many fronts — against these students and their parents who have the right to choose an educational opportunity they feel is best for their children.”
Attorney Wally Fayssoux, one of the lawyers for the schools, said a motion for an injunction has been filed and they hope to hear this week when it it will be on the court docket.
In March — just about the time the coronavirus shut down sports across the United States — amendments were passed that the private and charter schools felt directly targeted them. The SCHSL treats public and charter schools differently than traditional public schools, the lawsuit alleges.
Under one of the amendments that goes into effect for the 2020-21 school year, most students who transfer from traditional school to a charter or private school would have to sit out a year before they would be eligible to play any athletic team.
Also new: In previous years, students were allowed into transfer to any high school in the state by the ninth grade and be immediately eligible athletically, even if they lived outside that school’s attendance zone. Now, those students who transfer would have to sit out a year to play junior varsity or varsity athletics.
Gray Collegiate has students from all over the Midlands but is governed athletically, in part, by the Lexington School District Two’s attendance zone regarding such issues as transfers. Lexington Two is also home to Airport and Brookland-Cayce high schools.
According to an April opinion issued by the S.C. Attorney General’s office: “While these amendments appear to apply equally to all schools, its impact is necessarily greater on students who transfer from public schools to charter schools and private schools than those that transfer within a public school district. Therefore, a court may well find that these amendments violate the Equal Access to Interscholastic Activities Act.”
The SCHSL, through a lawyer, told Wilson’s office that “these amendments were designed to give charter schools and private schools the same treatment as similar public schools, i.e. traditional public high schools that do not have another high school in their local school district. Therefore, the SCHSL would interpret these bylaws to only allow students to transfer to another school within the school district if both schools actually fall under the governance of the same school district.”
Private or charter schools make up 12 percent of the membership of the S.C. High School League but have racked up state championships in athletics in recent years, especially in Class A and Class 2A.
Gray Collegiate has won three straight Class 2A boys basketball titles, while Bishop England has dominated several sports. Bishop England was in Class 2A and continued its success when it moved to 3A in 2015 after private schools and charter schools were required to move up in classifications when the state expanded to five classes. Christ Church was dominant in girls basketball with four straight titles before moving up to 2A.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 5:35 PM.
