The Kentucky Board of Education will soon reconsider its policies governing middle school athletics. A legislative task force crafted final recommendations this week, which include many policies already in place at the high school level.
Wilson Sears is executive director of the Kentucky Association of Schools Superintendents. He’s also on the 17-member task force. He says there has never been a governing body for middle school sports.
“Whether or not they could put in place an agency like the KHSAA by the beginning of the 13/14 school year I’m not sure,” Sears said.“I think there has been a real acceleration of middle school participation. The reason there’s never been a governing body is simply because it’s never happened.”
At the high school level….it’s happened.
The Kentucky High School Athletics Association governs the health and welfare of high school student-athletes.
Sears says an increase in middle school participation has raised some questions regarding oversight that the task force has tried to answer.
Kentucky has taken steps to bring middle schools in line with what’s expected at the high school level. Earlier this year they extended mandatory concussion training to all school coaches.
The final recommendations include developing playing limitations that protect the health of students. Also included is the tracking of injury and incident reports. Sears says he expects the Kentucky Board of Education to consider the recommendations early next year.
