A fight over whether students who use funding from Alabama’s CHOOSE Act can play school sports immediately after transferring schools has moved a few yards down the field, but the court battle is still to come.
Yet while the legal wrangling unfolds in Montgomery, middle schoolers like Luke Rice have been left standing on the sidelines, waiting for the adults to sort it out.
Luke, an eighth grader at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville, runs every drill at practice and wears his jersey on game day. But because his family used CHOOSE Act funds for tuition, the AHSAA ruled him ineligible for game play – a decision now fueling a statewide showdown over school choice and sports.
The CHOOSE Act, passed in 2024, provides families with state-backed education savings accounts to pay private school tuition and other education expenses. Lawmakers claim they wrote into the law that athletic eligibility should not be affected.
The AHSAA, however, interprets the money as “financial aid,” triggering rules that force transfer students to sit out sports for a year.
On Friday, just one day after Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter filed a lawsuit asking a Montgomery judge to block the AHSAA from enforcing their rule, they were granted a temporary restraining order doing just that.
“Today’s order is a victory for common sense,” Ivey said in a written statement Friday afternoon. “Every child deserves true choice in their education and that includes their right to participate in school athletics. The court’s decision restores fairness to the process which is, of course, the very basis of the CHOOSE Act. I will continue standing up for our parents and students to ensure the law is followed and that every child in Alabama has a fair chance to succeed in the classroom and in athletics.”
The AHSAA issued a statement also: “We are disappointed the Circuit Court has granted a temporary restraining order that prohibits the AHSAA from enforcing its rule regarding financial aid specifically related to the CHOOSE Act.” They cautioned that all other rules regarding eligibility of transfer students still apply.
Supporters of the AHSAA’s rule say it’s about fair play, designed to prevent students from being recruited.
Adam Rice says he understands that concern, but that isn’t the case with his son Luke.
“One hundred percent he was not recruited,” Adam Rice told Alabama Daily News. Luke was homeschooled last year, and the CHOOSE Act opened up a new possibility to attend a school with a good reputation.
Adam Rice and his son, Luke, whose chance to take the field may come after a judge temporarily blocked the AHSAA rule that sidelined him. (Courtesy Adam Rice)
Adam Rice and his son, Luke, whose chance to take the field may come after a judge temporarily blocked the AHSAA rule that sidelined him. (Courtesy Adam Rice)
“Without the CHOOSE Act, this would not be a realm of possibility for us as a family,” Adam Rice, an associate pastor at Capshaw Baptist Church, said.
After the judge’s ruling, he said he is relieved, though he wonders whether athletic directors will feel comfortable putting CHOOSE Act students in games.
Luke’s next game is Monday, and his father hopes to see his son take the field. That’s the experience he wanted for Luke going into this school year – and he had no idea how many roadblocks they would face along the way.
It all started simply enough. Adam Rice and his wife thought their son needed something to do. “Our philosophy for him is that he needs to do hard things. And he’s very social. So we knew in a sport where he could be with friends and just be around people, he would thrive.”
After connecting with the school’s middle-school football coach, Adam Rice asked his son if he wanted to try playing football. Luke agreed and began training with his eighth-grade teammates. Things were going well, and then came the email from the school’s athletic director saying Luke would be ineligible to play.
“At first I thought it was simply because of the transfer that he’d be ineligible for a year,” Adam Rice said. “As we dug into it, we found out it was because (the AHSAA) labeled the CHOOSE Act as financial aid.”
That didn’t make sense to him, so Adam Rice started asking questions, contacting local lawmakers and even the governor’s office. He got nowhere at the time.
The AHSAA wouldn’t take his calls, instead directing him to speak with athletic officials at the school.
For Adam Rice, that lack of clarity quickly became personal. What started as a confusing eligibility notice for his son has now become part of a statewide fight.
The state’s filing in the TRO motion, which includes testimony from Alabama Christian Academy President Joshua Roberts, claimed students sidelined because of the AHSAA’s interpretation are suffering “irreparable harm” by missing the opportunities that come with playing in their team’s football games.
“No one in Alabama would seriously maintain that students have true school choice if their decision to enroll in a new school means sitting out of interscholastic athletic competitions for an entire year,” the motion states.
For Adam Rice, the dispute feels like politics at the expense of kids. Even though his son couldn’t dress out on game days – but hopefully will on Monday – Luke kept showing up, running through practices and learning plays. But there are some moments his son has already missed out on.
One of the toughest moments came after a historic win against a longtime rival, one Westminster had never beaten. Players celebrated on the field. Luke was there, jersey on, cheering.
But when he got in the car, his father said, the joy faded.
“He was just upset. He felt like he wasn’t a part of it.”
Adam Rice and his wife remind Luke that this year can still be valuable. It’s practice, preparation, character-building. Maybe it will help him when he reaches high school.
Still, his dad admits, “I just hurt for him.”
For now, Adam Rice hopes the season is turning, and that Monday will finally bring a clear green light for his son to take the field.
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