(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Senate voted 22-11 on Tuesday to make the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association subject to open meetings and public records.
The private organization that governs high school athletics for the state’s public and private schools has fought the legislation, saying it is private and does not accept tax money.
The legislation would have to also pass the Assembly and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers before becoming law.
The group makes most of its funding from “host tournaments and through private donations” which includes hosting events featuring public high school teams at public high schools and making eligibility decisions on athletes.
Executive Director Stephanie Hauser told a committee previously that those eligibility decisions can become controversial and “I think we’re going to get pummeled with them” regarding public records requests.
Those advocating for the rules, however, believe that the WIAA needs more transparency on its decision-making authority over public high school athletes.
Hauser told a committee that “subjecting a private organization to open records policies is akin to forcing a church, small business or any other sort of private organization to such policies.”
The WIAA noted in a letter against the bill that former Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a similar bill in 2015 and Evers vetoed one in 2021.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty advocated for the bill, saying the Legislature has never granted power over public school athletics to the WIAA.
“WIAA is a nominally private membership association that exercises governmental power by playing gatekeeper over interscholastic athletics, a government-provided benefit,” WILL wrote.
After the vote, WILL Attorney Lucas Vebber wrote a post applauding the vote, which came after no debate on the bill.
“A great bipartisan group of state senators just voted to advance legislation to ensure the WIAA complies with the public records law. Long overdue legislation,” Vebber wrote.
