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AGENDA

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

March 20, 1998

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

 

I. Roll Call

II. Approval of Minutes

III. Election of Officers

IV. Old Business

A. Expansion of Legislative Council

The Council, at the December meeting, requested that the item regarding the expansion of the Council from nine voting members to 51 voting members be placed on the March agenda for further discussion.

The proposal would change Article IV of the Constitution. The membership of the Council would be one representative from each district using the three-classification plan and the three regions in Division II (16, 16, 16, 3 = 51). All junior high schools would be added to the geographic district where they fall.

The Council would meet each year in April in conjunction with the Athletic Directors Conference. This would allow a large percentage of our schools to be present at Council meetings. Another possible change would be to require a two-thirds vote for any constitution or bylaw change.

This proposal creates more representation in the legislative process from the membership. It is more in line with similar associations, as is the two-thirds vote.

If this proposal has merit, it would seem that it is a major change that should be discussed and voted on by the membership at the regional meetings.

B. Article II, Section 19 be amended as follows:

Students may participate in spring practice in football and

basketball only at the school at which they are enrolled and in regular attendance.

The Council, at its December meeting, voted to take no action but to bring this back to the Council in March. Possible amendments are:

1. Permit only students enrolled in a school to go through spring practice. There are many more concerns now with students at a feeder school practicing with high schools than before. Previously, the students were ninth-graders in 7-9 grade schools practicing with 10-12 grade schools. Now, we are talking about eighth-graders.

2. Permit high school coaches to go down to feeder schools only and practice five days with eighth graders zoned to their school. These five days would not count against the school’s 10 days.

3. Permit students to participate in spring practice only with school where they are zoned or are in a definite feeder pattern.

V. New Business

A. Proposal for a change in requirement for membership (Article II, Section 1) – Submitted by Bishop Byrne, Briarcrest, Memphis Catholic, CBHS, ECS, Harding Academy, Hutchison, Immaculate Conception, Lausanne, MUS, St. Agnes, St. Benedict, and St. Mary’s.

Supplement #1 contains information from these schools and S.B.E.C. Also, part of supplement #1 are letter of recommendation from other school representatives. The suggestion from staff, if approved by the Council, would be to add the following after the first sentence: ". . . Prior member schools that continue to serve students within the state of Tennessee may also make application to the Board of Control . . ." There does not need to be a reference to "affiliate member for one year . . ."

B. Proposal of the Academic Rule Committee

The Legislative Council, at the December meeting, requested that a committee be appointed to study the academic rule and options to be put on the agenda for the 1998 regional meetings. A committee composed of Pete Stafford, Steve Wilkinson, James Swain of the Department of Education, Connie Smith of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and Ronnie Carter, met on February 25, 1998. The committee looked at the many changes occurring in education and an academic rule that would reflect those changes, place proper demands on students, and be easier to administer. Supplement #2 contains the recommendations to the Council from the committee.

C. Proposed change in Article II, Section 27 of the Bylaws.

Supplement #3 contains a proposal for a change in Article II, Section 27 of the TSSAA Bylaws. Mr. Mark Davis, Principal, and Mr. John Visser, Athletic Director, of Chattanooga Christian will be present to present the proposal, explain the rationale, and answer questions.

D. Proposed change in Article II, Section 27 of the Bylaws.

Supplement #4 contains a proposal for a change in Article II, Section 27 of the TSSAA Bylaws and is submitted by Franklin Road Academy, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Ezell-Harding Christian School, Nashville Christian School, The Clarksville Academy, and Goodpasture Christian School.

E. Report of Division II Committee

The Division II Committee, composed of Eddie Krenson, Father Ryan, Chair, Randy Tucker, GPS, Bill Wade, St. Andrews-Sewanee, Ellis Haguewood, MUS, and Barbara Daush, St. Agnes, has met three times. The committee has met with Bernard Childress of the TSSAA staff to review and approve financial aid of Division II Schools. They have also requested additional information from schools. Ms. Daush, member of the committee and Legislative Council representative for the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools, will give a report of the committee and present recommendations of the committee.

F. Report of the Middle School Committee

The Middle School Committee of the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association met on February 25 at the TSSAA office with Bernard Childress of the state office. The committee is composed of Norma Beshears, Chic Nute, Bob Yancey, Denise Brown, Hardin Satterfield, Mike Morrison, and Roger Eichelberger. Bernard Childress will give a full report from the committee.

The committee has been working for the past year on a sports calendar for schools in the TMSAA. Supplement #5 contains the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association Sports Calendar that is being proposed to the Legislative Council for action. In addition, Bernard Childress will go through the sports calendar to answer any questions.

G. That a New Section be Added to Article I Regarding Litigation Brought Against the Association by a Member School

The proposed addition would read as follows:

Penalties and Enforcement -- By joining the association, a member school agrees to abide by all of the rules of the association. If a member school files suit against the association and the association prevails, the member school shall reimburse the association for all legal fees and expenses incurred by the association in connection with said suit.

H. Legislative Proposal in Regard to the Sports Calendar

As the Legislative Council is aware, the schools discussed and voted on proposals at the regional meetings in regard to sectional basketball tournaments and the sports calendar. The proposal presented to the schools, that has been passed by the Board of Control in regard to sectional tournaments, will eliminate one week of regular season play by schools. The legislative proposal that schools voted on was in regard to the maintaining of a 26-game schedule or going to a 24-game schedule since the season would be reduced by one week. The vote was as follows:

    26-Game Schedule   24-Game Schedule
West Tennessee   44   33
East Tennessee   55   47
Middle Tennessee   52   44
Total 151   124

VI. Editorial Changes

A. Do Articles III and IV of the TSSAA Constitution indicate that the definition of a full-time employee (100 days) apply to Board and Council members? It was the staff’s thought that the change to 100 days minimum applied to coaches, Board, and Council. Do we need to add a statement?

B. In Article I of the TSSAA Bylaws, the title of sections 6-11 is "Suspension." The staff recommends that this be changed to "Penalties and Enforcement" which is a better description of sections 6-11. If "G" above is approved, then it is recommended that this become the introduction and sections 6-11 be renumbered.

C. Change in starting date for golf – Presently, we list the starting date for golf as August 15. Many schools can only get golf courses on Monday. The regular season for golf is very short and the calendar and availability of courses create a more severe problem. The recommendation is that the starting date be changed to "the week of the 15th."