The House Education Committee meets Friday morning with a session laser-focused on the future of fall high school athletics.
Chairman Ray Garofalo says the committee has been working with the LHSAA, BESE, the Department of Health, and other stakeholders to set a firm date for when contact practices and games can resume.
“We think that we understand exactly where the hiccups are, where the problem is, and the hang-up that is causing LHSAA to not want to put the students on the field right now,” says Garofalo.
The high school football season is tentatively set to begin October 8th, and there’s a push to restart contact practices on September 11th.
Garofalo says the biggest stumbling block for resuming sports has been concerns over legal liability should any students or staff get COVID-19. He’s confident they can get liability protection for high school sports by addressing legislation passed at the end of the special session.
“We have to go back and we have to redefine all of those rules and specifically say that the guidance does not apply to LHSAA sporting events, and that is the goal right now,” says Garofalo.
The LHSAA says under current interpretations of the law high school football is not feasible until the state enters Phase Three, and it’s still in Phase Two until at least September 11th.
Garofalo is optimistic that the meeting will pave the way for turning back on those Friday Night Lights.
“We know that Arkansas, Texas, and Mississippi, in particular, are all having high school athletics at this point. We believe if they can do it, Louisiana can do it as well,” says Garofalo.
The meeting is set to begin at 9 AM Friday morning.
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