Representative Click Introduces House Bill 625

State Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery), alongside State Representative Angie King (R-Celina), recently introduced the Student Athlete Mobility (SAM) Act - legislation that would give students the ability to participate in sports not offered at their home school.

A student in Rep. Click's district wrote his office stating, "Last high school soccer season, four public schools in Sandusky County - Clyde, Bellevue, Gibsonburg, and Woodmore - were unable to field boys' soccer teams due to low participation numbers. These schools are located within close proximity to each other, yet due to current Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) rules, they were not permitted to combine players to form a team. Given that they are neighboring school districts, a Bellevue/Clyde team and a Gibsonburg/Woodmore team would have been a great solution to providing opportunities on the east and west side of the county."

After hearing from his constituents, Representative Click stated, "A student's opportunity to compete should not be throttled by his or her zip code. Small communities should never mean limited opportunities. The SAM Act is the solution our students are waiting for."

The SAM Act removes barriers, promotes collaboration between schools, and ensures that all students can benefit from athletic participation. If passed, this bill will allow students to participate in team sports like baseball, basketball, football, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball, or any other sport that requires cooperative participation by multiple students at a neighboring school, if the sport they wish to play is not offered at their current school. It also allows two schools that could not field teams individually to work cooperatively to provide opportunities for student athletes.

House Bill 625 awaits committee assignment.