Miss. Could Delay Sports Cuts in Troubled Schools

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s state Board of Education is making another move toward rolling back penalties that strip troubled school districts of their ability to compete in high school sports.

The board is seeking public comment on a proposal that would give a district that loses state accreditation a year to remedy problems before losing half its games or competitions.

Right now, districts that lose accreditation lose half their games immediately.

The board could vote on final passage later this month.

When board members adopted the policy in 2012, they hoped that limiting the sports would motivate community intervention in troubled schools. But administrators in the three districts that have been penalized say that instead, athletes just transfer to another school.

The provision that would allow automatic transfers from unaccredited districts would remain.