GAINESVILLE, Fla- The Florida High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors held their fourth regularly scheduled meeting of the 2025-26 school year on Monday April 20, 2026, in Gainesville.

During the meeting, the Board was presented with and supported the FHSAA, Inc. and FHSAA Land Corporation’s financial statements for the period ending March 31, 2026.

During the report of the Governance Committee, the Board reviewed and approved a proposal to add language to Policy 22, clarifying that non-school teams cannot be used to recruit. A proposal was approved to remove language from Policy 35, that currently prevents students who attend or reside at a sport academy from participating in the post season when they train more than five (5) hours per academic week.

During the Operations Committee, the Board unanimously approved a proposal to modify Bylaw 7.2.1, modifying language to add a coach or other school representative to the definition of unsportsmanlike.
There were nine policy proposal changes presented before the Board. They approved modifications to the following policies:

• Policy 6.1.2: Modifies language relative to the school contest limitations for Cross Country.
• Policy 10.1.3: Modifies language to clarify the option for independent status.
• Policy 10.2.1: Modifies language to clarify participation as an independent and/or withdrawing from state series.
• Policy 12.3: Modifies language relative to the determination of the Rural Classification from the lowest thirty-two (32) teams to the lowest forty (40) teams. It also removes language relative to the pilot program for the previous classification cycle.
• Policy 18.5: Adds new language establishing procedures for officials’ associations to host training clinics.
• Policy 20.1.1: Modifies language to include non-traditional students. Adds new language to explicitly state that a valid EL1, EL2 and EL3 Form are needed for participation in summer athletic activities.
• Policy 27.10: Adds new language establishing a deadline to pay officials following an event.

The Board didn’t approve a proposal that would have given schools the choice not to schedule one District opponent for selective reasons in football but still be eligible to compete in the playoff series.

The Board considered two proposals from the Basketball Advisory Committee addressing the expansion of the rural playoff format for Basketball. The first proposal recommended two eight-team tournaments – eight teams from Regions 1 and 2 and eight teams from Regions 3 and 4. The second proposal increases the number of teams from sixteen to twenty-four, splitting into two twelve-team tournaments – twelve teams from Regions 1 and 2 and twelve teams from Regions 3 and 4. The Board approved the first proposal.

The Board rejected a proposal submitted by the Soccer Advisory Committee that would require at least one member of the officials’ crew to be able to communicate in English. The Board approved a proposal to adjust regional and state scheduling for soccer, so all classifications for girls are played on the same dates and all classifications for boys are played on the same dates.

The Board didn’t approve a proposal by the Swimming & Diving Advisory Committee to change the state meet to reflect a two-day championship meet.

The Board voted to approve Fall and Winter Sports Dates. However, they’ve decided to hold off on approving Spring Sports Dates.

Executive Director Craig Damon provided tentative dates for the 2026-27 School Year Meeting Dates for the Board of Directors, PLAC, Sectional Appeals Committees, Infraction Appeals Committee and the 30^th Representative Assembly. The Board will vote on these at their June meeting.

The annual Evaluation Portfolio, a two-page Performance Assessment for the Executive Director, was distributed to each Board member.



About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association supervises and regulates interscholastic athletic programs for high school students at member public, private and charter schools. The organization also recognizes and honors academic achievement among student-athletes at over 850 middle, junior and senior high schools statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, it is the official governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida.