SC High School League passes proposal to balance competition in sports

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) passed a new proposal Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to balance competition in high school sports. The committee approved the plan 12-4.

This season, questions arose regarding the fairness of charter schools in high school sports. Recently, we covered Gray Collegiate Academy, a charter school in West Columbia that went 6-0 in their region this season after every other team forfeited their games against them.

Under the new proposal, at charter schools like Gray Collegiate Academy, every student who lives outside of a school’s assigned attendance zone will count as three for its enrollment numbers. As a result, some schools are expected to move up in classification for athletics. Previously, every student outside of the assigned attendance zone counted as two for enrollment numbers.

The proposal will go in effect for the 2024-25 school year but the schools that will move up in classification because of Wednesday’s vote won’t be known until the South Carolina High School League releases its realignment plan, which is expected mid-December.

The realignment is a process that was already underway, it happens every two years in South Carolina.

As the SCHSL continues to work to even the playing field, lawmakers are discussing eliminating the league and putting high school sports under the South Carolina Department of Education.

The Department of Education recently commented on the situation with the league, saying, “The department is continuing to monitor legislative developments on this front and will respectfully respond to legislative requests on the issue.”

Stay with us as we work to learn more about the situation.

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