Five private schools, including OCS, sued activities body over 'unconstitutional' rule in December
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OSSAA
The Oklahoma County district court upheld a controversial rule from the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association (OSSAA) after a lawsuit filed by five Oklahoma private schools resulted in a preliminary injunction.
The December 2023 lawsuit filed by Oklahoma Christian School, Bishop McGuinness, Mount St. Mary, Heritage Hall and Crossings Christian School claimed that the OSSAA’s long-standing Rule 14 is unconstitutional and puts private schools at a competitive disadvantage in regard to athletics, compared to public schools.
Rule 14 was put in place by the OSSAA in 2011 with the aim of maintaining a competitive balance in regard to the athletic classification of high schools in Oklahoma. The rule states that public schools shall be placed in divisional classes (6A, 5A, 4A, etc.) in line with the size of their student body, or Average Daily Membership (ADM).
The rule established differing criteria for private institutions, however. Schools, such as OCS, are required to move based on postseason success rather than their ADM, meaning that they could possibly compete against schools three to four times bigger than them.
The ruling was handed down by Oklahoma County District Court Judge Richard Ogden, who ruled to maintain Rule 14. However, certain amendments recently added to the rule must be voided by July 1 due to the preliminary injunction.
These amendments include the coupling provision, which required private schools' boys and girls sports teams to be elevated or delegated together, depending on postseason success during a three-year period. (For example; if the OCS boys soccer team experienced a certain level of success on the field, both the school’s boys and girls soccer teams would be required to move up to Class 5A even if the girls team did not experience the same level of success.)
Starting July 1, the coupling rule will no longer be in effect, meaning that private schools’ boys and girls teams won’t be tied to each other.
The five private schools joined together to sue the OSSAA on Dec. 7, 2023, claiming in paragraph five of Case CJ-2023-6910: “The OSSAA utilizes Rule 14 to arbitrarily move the private schools to a higher division based solely on the school being non-public and then continues to move the private schools to higher and higher divisions if the school is successful in competition over a two to three year period. Public schools remain in the division determined by their ADM regardless of success.”
Judge Odgen’s ruling of an injunction means that Rule 14 will remain in effect, requiring private institutions to move classes based on postseason success rather than ADM. However, the benchmark for elevation or delegation will be reworked to favor the private schools.