By-Law 4.00 - State

Last Updated: Thu, 10/24/2024 - 11:51am
2024-2025

BY-LAW 4.00 - STATE

4.10 - GHSA ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES TO MEMBER SCHOOLS

4.11 The GHSA Executive Committee shall meet bi-annually to review By-Laws, policies and procedures of the Association, and to make additions, deletions, and modifications as necessary.

  1. The GHSA Executive Committee and Board of Trustees shall, from time to time, adopt whatever rules of procedure are deemed appropriate. The Chair of the meeting shall be authorized to conduct all such meetings in an orderly fashion subject to any changes in those procedures otherwise adopted by a majority vote of members present and subject to the following:
    1. “Pass” votes are not considered “No” votes
    2. Any Committee member may request a roll-call vote on any question before the Committee without the requirement of a majority vote.
    3. Members of the Executive Committee may propose new or amended rules, by-laws or actions to be taken or considered by the Executive Committee during the new business portion of Executive Committee meetings only if such proposal has first been submitted to the Executive Director for inclusion on the agenda for the meeting not later than five calendar (5) days prior to the date of the Executive Committee meeting. Provided however, that if the Executive Director certifies any proposal that has not been timely submitted to be of an emergency nature or to be necessary for the orderly transaction of the business or activities of the GHSA, then he shall have the authority to bring such proposal to the floor of the meeting for consideration of and action by the Executive Committee.
  2. The GHSA Executive Committee shall consider recommendations at its bi-annual meetings from member schools and/or region secretaries that are submitted in writing to the GHSA Office at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to the meeting.

4.12 The GHSA Office shall maintain an official record for all dues and fees received from any source, and shall provide for an annual audit of finances by a firm of auditors or a certified public accountant.

4.13 The GHSA Office shall provide all necessary forms on the GHSA web site, including the following forms from which copies are to be made to satisfy the needs of the member schools:

  1. Student eligibility forms.
  2. Declarations of intent to enter GHSA activities.
  3. Forms to secure sanctioning of events.
  4. Contracts for events.
  5. Financial statements for hosting GHSA events.

4.14 The GHSA Office shall provide an annual calendar that notes:

  1. the beginning and end of the season for all activities;
  2. dates for Region, Area and/or State Playoff contests and/or tournaments

4.20 - RECLASSIFICATION (For the 2024-26 cycle)

4.21 Every two (2) years, member schools will be assigned a “Reclassification Student Count” and placed in classifications for competition by one of the following procedures:

  1. The Reclassification Student Count for Public schools will be based on the FTE count for students in Grades 9-12 provided by the Georgia Department of Education for the fall semester of the second year of the current reclassification cycle.
    1. A school will be considered a single-gender school if either gender composes less than 35% of the school population.
    2. A single-gender school shall have its FTE numbers doubled for the purpose of reclassification.
  2. The Reclassification Student Count for Private schools will be based on the actual head count of students in Grades 9-12 at member private schools as determined on October 1 of the second year of the current reclassification cycle.
  3. The Reclassification Student Count will be based on projected enrollment numbers for all schools affected by the opening of a new school, the consolidation of existing schools or the redistribution of students within a school system that must be submitted by the system Superintendent no later than October 1 of the second year of the current reclassification cycle.
    1. Projections must be filed for the next two school years and those numbers will be averaged to get the number by which the schools will be classified.
    2. In the event that a school’s actual enrollment in the first semester of the new reclassification cycle exceeds the projection average by 10% or more, or an existing school exceeds the projection by 5% or more AND the additional students would have resulted in the school being in a higher classification, the school shall not be eligible for post-season play in any sport for the entirety of that reclassification cycle.
    3. Schools may appeal the loss of post-season competition to the Reclassification Committee and then to the full Executive Committee.
  4. The Reclassification Student Count or classification placement of isolated schools will be determined by the Reclassification Committee in accordance with the “Isolation Rule.”

4.22 The Reclassification Committee may utilize the following factors in reclassification decision:

  1. Consideration of travel time and costs, plus time out of school for students.
  2. Consideration of differences in the size of school populations.
  3. Consideration of competitive balance of the schools.
  4. Consideration of equitable access to playoff slots.
  5. Consideration of rivalries and gate-receipt issues.

4.23 The membership of the Association shall be divided into six (6) classifications as follows:

  1. Schools will be placed in classifications (according to their Reclassification Student Count) as follows:
    1. Class 6A: Largest 14% (approximately) of schools. Note: Schools may opt to play up into 6A.
    2. Class A Division 1 & Division 2: Smallest 26% (approximately) of schools. Note: Non-football playing schools will NOT be counted when calculating the schools being placed in Class A. They will be placed in appropriate regions later.
    3. The remaining schools (after 6A and Class A are populated) will be divided into four (4) approximately equal classifications (2A through 5A) with schools divided equally among the four classes at the discretion of the Reclassification Committee.
    4. When schools opt to move up in classification, only the exact number of schools at the bottom of the next class will be given the option to come down. If any of those schools opt not to come down, the GHSA office will not look further to larger schools in that class.
    5. Class A will be divided into two (2) divisions with Division 2 being comprised of the smallest approximately 50 football playing public schools. Division 1 will have the remainder of the schools.
    6. Non-public schools in Classes A, 2A and 3A will play in their assigned regions during the regular season but will then compete in a combined championship bracket of private schools only. Public schools in A-Div. 1, A-Div. 2, 2A and 3A will each have separate championship brackets. All schools in A-Div 1, 2A and 3A will be seeded into playoff brackets using an evaluation format to be determined by the GHSA office.
  2. Out-Of-Zone Multiplier: Every student attending a school from outside that school’s district-assigned attendance zone shall be counted as three (3.0) students when it comes to calculating that school’s Reclassification Student Count. And that school shall be placed in the classification where the increased count falls. (Note: Schools compelled to play at a higher classification because of this stipulation may petition the Executive Director for stadium/arena seating waivers by August 31 each year. If granted, the waiver would allow that school to use the lesser seating requirements to comply with playoff by-laws.)
    1. The designated reclassification attendance zone for all GHSA public schools shall be that attendance zone assigned to the school by its respective school district.
    2. Member non-public and charter schools may select a public school’s attendance zone within their county of residence that best reflects their student population to be their designated reclassification attendance zone (for reclassification purposes only, not for transfer eligibility. See Appendix S-R).
    3. Children of certified professionals at the high school (grades 9-12) and military active duty dependent children will not be subject to the Out-Of-Zone Multiplier even if they live outside the school’s designated attendance zone.
    4. Students who entered a feeder school of a member high school in grades K-5 and remained continuously enrolled will not be subject to the Out-Of-Zone Multiplier.
    5. All member schools must submit the number of students that will be counted as Out-Of-Zone students by October 15th of the final year of the reclassification cycle.
    6. Single-gender schools will have the Out-of-Zone Multiplier applied only to the actual number of students enrolled in the school and not to their doubled enrollment figure.
    7. If a school is found to be intentionally reporting incorrect numbers, that school will be banned from participating in the state playoffs for two (2) years and must pay a fine of $2,500.
    8. A school shall be allowed to appeal its classification placement to the Reclassification Committee by filing a written appeal with the Executive Director not later than seven (7) days after notification of its classification placement, setting forth in detail why it contends the placement is unfair or unjustified, or why its assigned FTE number is inaccurate.
    9. The Reclassification Committee shall thereafter set a date for the hearing of such appeals. If the Reclassification Committee finds that the placement is unfair or unjustified, the school’s placement may be modified by the Reclassification Committee. The decision of the Reclassification Committee may be appealed by the school to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will not consider objections from schools regarding contested classification placements unless those schools have filed timely appeals with the Reclassification Committee.
  3. Each classification will have eight (8) regions unless otherwise determined by the Reclassification Committee or the Executive Committee.
  4. The Reclassification Committee shall have the authority to assign a different Reclassification Student Count or classification placement for any school that is geographically isolated within its region in order to resolve difficulties in travel and time out of class. (Football may be exempted from the isolation policy.)
    1. An individual school shall be considered to be isolated if the average distance from that school to all other schools in the region is 100 miles or more one way.
    2. The decision to place a school in a higher or lower classification will be based on a combination of factors that include travel distances and school population size.
    3. If two or three schools in a region are considered to be isolated (even if the average travel distance is less than 100 miles one way), the Reclassification Committee shall be authorized to place those schools in another classification based on travel distances and school population size.
    4. If four or more schools in a region are considered to be isolated (even if the average travel distance is less than 100 miles one way), the Reclassification Committee shall be authorized to form a subdivided region in which crossover games with the other subdivision will not be mandatory for region standing.

4.24 When the membership is divided into classifications as called for by the GHSA Constitution, the following process will be used:

  1. Schools will be assigned a Reclassification Student Count by the GHSA office.
  2. Member schools will be able to review and verify their assigned Reclassification Student Count on the GHSA web site. When there is a major discrepancy between the school’s count and the count determined by the GHSA staff, the school may appeal to the Executive Director to reconsider the count. The Executive Director’s decision shall be final.
  3. When enrollment figures have been verified, schools will be placed in the proper classification and schools will have seven (7) calendar days to file a request to play at a higher classification.
    1. A request to move to a higher classification must be submitted over the signatures of the school’s administrative authorities (i.e., the Principal and Superintendent).
    2. A school that transfers to a higher classification must remain in the higher classification until schools are next reclassified on a statewide basis.
  4. The GHSA office will initially place schools in regions and the Reclassification Committee will then meet to ratify or modify those placements. The decisions will be sent to the member schools after that meeting.
    1. There will be a mandatory subdivision of each region containing ten (10) or more schools by the Reclassification Committee (Exception: Cheerleading).
    2. The Reclassification Committee may subdivide a region consisting of less than ten schools if there is an extremely large geographic area within that region.
    3. For football, the Reclassification Committee will require crossover games between teams in the subregions to guarantee a minimum of 70% of the season schedule unless there are isolation issues.
    4. For all other sports, subdivided regions must guarantee member schools a minimum number of contests within the region equal to 50% of the season schedule unless there are isolation issues.
    5. Any region subdivided because of geographic considerations may vote to play a full region schedule based on a two-thirds approval of all Principals in the region.
  5. Member schools will have seven (7) calendar days after notification of assignment to request a lateral move to another region, by filing that request with the Executive Director.
    1. A request to have a lateral transfer must be submitted over the signatures of the school’s administrative authorities (i.e., the Principal and Superintendent).
    2. The request will be heard at a meeting of the Reclassification Committee and representatives from both regions shall be notified of the request, and may attend the meeting to voice their approval or state their concerns about such a move.
    3. A school that receives a lateral transfer must remain in that region until schools are next reclassified on a statewide basis.
    4. At a meeting thereafter, the Executive Committee shall hear any appeals regarding lateral transfers by the Reclassification Committee. Representatives from both regions involved in the appeal shall be notified, and may voice their approval or state their concerns about the appeal.
    5. Thereafter, the Executive Committee will approve, disapprove or modify the final reclassification and region alignment plan. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, all member schools are notified that at a meeting of the State Executive Committee to finally approve reclassification, isolation status, lateral transfers, and assignment to regions, any member school may be assigned or transferred to different classifications or different regions other than those previously assigned. There shall be no further appeal of such assignment or transfer either by the member school assigned or transferred at such meeting, or by any other school which objects to such assignment or transfer. Member schools desiring to be heard on those issues are directed to be in attendance at the meeting of the State Executive Committee as all action taken in connection with reclassification and region assignment will be final and no further appeal will be allowed.
  6. Member schools may begin scheduling contests for the new reclassification cycle as soon as the final vote has been taken, the membership notified, and any region subdivisions finalized.
  7. When a majority vote is used in a subdivided region to determine scheduling and the process for selecting teams for post-season play, one or more schools may file a “minority report” with the Executive Director if the approved procedure is alleged to be unfair to all schools in the region. If the Executive Director believes that there is unfairness with the chosen procedure, the Reclassification Committee will meet and make a final decision on such matters. No further appeal will be allowed.

4.25 The following scheduling policy will be in effect for public schools entering the GHSA at the beginning of the second year of the reclassification cycle:

  1. In sports where the region has two-year scheduling, the new school will not be able to play a complete region schedule at the varsity level. In those sports, the school could play a varsity non-region schedule or a JV schedule.
  2. In sports having year-to-year scheduling, the new school will have full membership once it has been assigned to the new region by the Reclassification Committee.
  3. In sports that have a region tournament to advance to post-season play, the region may allow a new school to accept a low seed in the tournament even though it did not play a complete region schedule. That is a decision made by the region.

4.26 Charter schools that apply for membership after the reclassification process has been completed will be accepted as schools playing sub-varsity schedules and/or non-region varsity schedules for the next reclassification cycle.

4.30 - STATE ASSOCIATION CONTEST/EVENT RESPONSIBILITIES

4.31 The Executive Director shall determine the activities in which a State Tournament, Playoff, and/or Meet are to be held.

  1. In order for a new sport to have a state competition to determine a state champion, the sport or activity must show significant growth and financial stability for a period of three (3) years.
  2. The GHSA Executive Director will appoint a committee and a sport liaison to monitor the sport.
  3. In order to have a State Championship in an Open Meet Event, there must be a minimum of thirty-two (32) teams participating and this will be determined with the “Intent to Participate” form that is submitted to the GHSA office the preceding school year (with the exception of coed cheerleading, which has a later deadline). Schools which submit this form and then withdraw from that sport will be fined.

4.32 The GHSA Executive Director shall determine and provide adequate sites for all State Tournaments, Playoffs, and/or Meets to successfully conduct the event.

  1. Tournament sites will not be available to participating teams for practice prior to the tournaments.
  2. The GHSA shall have full rights to the use of the GHSA logo at these events, and have full and complete rights to the sale of championship merchandise at the venue. The GHSA will also have the right to display signage of corporate partners and to restrict the use of goods in the competitive area that promote a competitor of GHSA corporate partners.

4.33 The GHSA shall provide team trophies for State Champions and Runners-Up, and individual medals for first and second place winners in all State activities.

  1. The number of individual medals provided for team sports and activities is limited as follows:
    Baseball..............22 Cross Country....5 Golf.....................6 Rifle..........................5
    Bass Fishing.........6 Esports...............8 Lacrosse...........27 Tennis....................10
    Basketball...........18 Football............56 Soccer..............27 Volleyball................15
    Cheerleading......20 Flag Football....25 Softball.............24 Wrestling (Dual).....14
    Game Day..........25 Dance...............22
  2. Schools may purchase additional medals if desired. The form to use to place an order for extra medals is found on the GHSA web site.

4.34 The GHSA shall assign field/court officials for all Area, Sectional, and State competitions (i.e., after the region winner has been determined), and the fees will be as shown in the chart in Appendix F.

  1. Baseball - crew of 3 or 4
  2. Basketball - crew of 3
  3. Cheerleading - 5 scoring judges and 2 safety judges
  4. Dance - 4 scoring judges and 2 safety judges
  5. Football - crew of 7
  6. Game Day - 6 judges
  7. Lacrosse - crew of 3
  8. Soccer - crew of 4
  9. Softball - crew of 3
  10. Swimming (TBA)
  11. Volleyball - crew of 4
  12. Wrestling (TBA)

4.35 The Executive Director is authorized to modify all competition dates, times, sites, officiating requirements and other practical and logistical matters.

4.36 For state playoff events that are held at multiple, centralized sites, when venue expenses exceed 45% of the revenue for that day at that site, the GHSA will pay the excess expenses. For state playoff events hosted by member schools, the school’s payment to the GHSA will be waived if the financial report for that event shows a loss, subject to GHSA review.

4.37 Universal Coin Flip: The GHSA office will conduct one “universal” coin flip prior to the Quarterfinal round and again prior to the Semifinal round in all sports to determine the designated home team in all classifications where equal-seeded teams are meeting in that round. This flip will determine whether the top or bottom of the bracket in all such cases would be the host team (subject to other hosting requirements as specified by the GHSA by-laws for each respective sport).

4.40 - STATE PASSES TO GHSA EVENTS

4.41 The GHSA shall issue passes for regular season and post-season events annually to:

  1. Elected or appointed Board of Education members
  2. The following school system personnel who work directly with interscholastic activities in grades 9-12:
    1. Superintendent
    2. Assistant Superintendents
    3. System-wide Athletic Directors and Assistant Athletic Directors
  3. The following school personnel of grades 9-12:
    1. Principal and Assistant Principal(s)
    2. 1 Band Director
    3. 1 Literary Coordinator
    4. 1 One Act Play Coordinator
    5. Athletic Director(s)
    6. All athletic coaches, including Community Coaches who have successfully completed the GHSA Coaches Education Program and who are registered by a member school as being utilized as a high school coach.
    7. 2 Certified Trainers employed by the school system in grades 9-12 and recommended by the Principal. A copy of their Georgia Athletic Training license must be provided. Passes for additional Certified Athletic Trainers employed by the school system may be requested.
  4. GHSA staff members

4.42 Lifetime Passes are available to retired persons of the teaching profession, and/or those retiring from the Georgia Teaching Retirement System, who served at least twenty (20) years in GHSA member school(s), grades 9-12 as a:

  1. Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent AND/OR
  2. Principal or Assistant Principal AND/OR
  3. Athletic Director AND/OR
  4. Coach of a sport listed in the GHSA by-laws.
  5. A Board of Education member with at least thirty (30) years service.
  6. Retired Contest Officials with at least thirty (30) years of active service in the GHSA.
  7. GHSA staff member with 20 years or more of service.
    1. Application should include the individual’s permanent address and verification of years of service and must be signed off by retiring system’s Superintendent.
    2. Application are available under Forms on the GHSA web site.
    3. Years of service to the GHSA as a Region Secretary and/or Executive Committee member shall count towards the requirements to qualify for a GHSA Lifetime Pass.
      NOTE: Individuals must have retired from coaching and teaching before applying for a pass. Should a Lifetime Pass holder return to a member school in a capacity that is eligible for a school pass, the Lifetime Pass must be revoked and placed on a “hold” status and the eligible party must request a school pass. Once the pass holder has fully retired from that school position, they may request the hold be removed and the Lifetime Pass will continue.

4.43 GHSA passes are non-transferrable and may not be used by persons other than the individual to whom it was issued.

  1. The individual's name shall appear on the pass.
  2. Picture Identification is required for the user of the pass at all GHSA post season events.
  3. A pass that is used illegally is to be revoked and the individual to whom the pass was issued forfeits the right to receive a pass in the future.
  4. The spouse of a coach, coaching in a State Playoff event shall be admitted to that event upon presentation of their spouse's pass and proper identification.

4.44 In the event a pass is destroyed or lost, the school administrator should notify the GHSA Office in writing, and should include the payment of $25.00 with a school check to have the pass replaced.

4.45 When a school staff member who was issued a GHSA pass leaves the position that entitles them to that pass, the pass should be revoked immediately.

4.46 At any GHSA regular-season event, the host school must honor the GHSA pass that admits “the bearer and one other person” as well as similar passes from the GISA or the GAPPS (formerly GICAA). For GHSA state playoff events, the host school shall honor only the GHSA pass, valid media credentials and the GHSA Officials Pass.

4.47 School resource officers and other law enforcement personnel in uniform are to be granted free admission to all GHSA events.

4.50 - CERTIFICATION OF ATHLETIC OFFICIALS

4.51 A plan for the certification of athletic officials shall be established by the GHSA office and published in the GHSA Contest Officials Handbook and Accountability Program which includes:

  1. published procedures for registration of officials
  2. published guidelines for training officials
  3. a system for evaluating performances of officials
  4. a system of recognition of years of service by officials

4.52 The following items constitute the Athletic Officials Associations Approval Plan for the GHSA:

  1. The Executive Director of the GHSA shall determine the number of officials associations to be approved for each activity. The number of associations will be determined by:
    1. The demand for officials in that activity in that geographic area of the state.
    2. The number of associations already in existence in that activity in that area.
    3. The extent to which member schools’ needs are being met by existing associations in that activity.
    4. The assignment of associations for most activities shall be the responsibility of the GHSA office.
    5. Officials’ associations must maintain minimum membership levels in order to be considered “active associations” by the GHSA in certain sports. Those numbers shall be: Baseball (20), Softball (20), Football (30), and Basketball (30).
    6. New officiating associations may be established when it can be demonstrated that the needs of member schools will be met by adding an association.
  2. The GHSA Executive Director may, at his discretion, approve additional associations utilizing the following criteria and procedure:
    1. Such associations shall make application to the GHSA requesting approval.
    2. The By-Laws of such an association shall be subject to the approval of the GHSA and must include provisions indicating that the association and its members will be subject to the rules and authority of the GHSA. A current copy of the association by-laws/constitution must be submitted to the GHSA office.
    3. An approved officials association must handle its finances through a central banking account, and should distribute IRS 1099 forms to all members. Every officiating association must have a Federal Tax Identification Number on file with the GHSA office.
    4. An approved association shall require all its members to be registered with the GHSA, and to comply with all requirements of the “GHSA Policies and Procedures Manual.”
    5. All approved associations must comply with all GHSA policies, procedures and reporting deadlines or be subject to fines assessed to the association by the GHSA office.
    6. All chartered officiating associations must comply with the E-Verify program by July 1 of each calendar year.
    7. All GHSA contest officials are required to have a current “background check” on file. Background checks are valid for a five-year period. Each local association is required to keep records of the background checks. Associations assigning contest officials to GHSA sanctioned contests who have not completed this requirement are subject to a monetary fine and possible loss of charter.
  3. The GHSA expects every officials association to operate in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, disability, religion, national origin or age.
  4. Officials associations shall not charge member schools any administrative fees not authorized by the GHSA.
  5. All Invoices for officiating fees in all sports shall be paid within 14 days of receipt of the invoice. Failure to do so will result in a 10% late fee being charged to the member school by the assigned local officiating association. Local associations may send invoices for game fees as agreed upon with the member school. NOTE: Member schools are prohibited from paying contest officials at the game site.
  6. Officials may register with only one (1) local association per sport during a school year, and officials are not allowed to officiate GHSA events until the registration process has been completed with the GHSA office.
  7. In the event that a local association does not have a sufficient number of eligible officials to work on a specific day/night, officials may be requested from other GHSA-chartered associations. It is the responsibility of the local association assignor in need of additional officials to make the initial contact with the assignor of another association to work out details of the request
  8. All GHSA chartered associations and registered contest officials shall comply with the policies and standards referenced in the “GHSA Contest Officials Handbook and Accountability Program.”
  9. Officials shall not be assigned in any GHSA sport or activity if they have had any connection in the past 10 years (attended, worked in the system, have children or other relatives in the system, etc.) with the schools they are officiating or judging.
  10. All GHSA contest officials shall adhere to the “Uniform Standards” as listed in the “GHSA Contest Officials Handbook and Accountability Program.”

4.53 Contest officials and officials’ associations are independent contractors and not employees of the GHSA or\ its member schools.

4.54 In the event that officials do not show for a scheduled event without notification or emergency situation, a fine shall be assessed to the officials association for twice the amount of the game fees and that amount be divided between the competing schools.

4.55 All decisions of the GHSA Executive Director in regards to officials shall be subject to the appellate procedures as set forth in the GHSA Constitution.

4.56 Universal contest fees shall be charged for all scheduled, regular-season interscholastic contests (including scrimmages). The universal fee schedule shall be as shown in the chart in Appendix F. Schools and officiating associations may not reduce or increase game fees from those listed in this section. Penalties may be imposed for those violating this rule.

4.57 Current-year registered contest officials have the option to purchase a “GHSA Officials Pass” through their local association via the registration process with the GHSA office. If this option is selected, an additional $15.00 will be added to the annual GHSA registration fee. The “GHSA Officials Pass” will allow the legal bearer of the pass his/her admission plus one (1) to all GHSA sanctioned events/activities.

4.60 - SPECIAL GHSA POLICIES

4.61 Gender Equity: The Georgia High School Association shall comply with the requirements of subsections (a) through (f) of Code Section 20-2-314, as those requirements relate to the association's functions of organizing, sanctioning, scheduling, or rule making for events in which public high schools participate. The Georgia High School Association shall, no later than October 1, 2003, and every year thereafter, submit a report to the General Assembly regarding its compliance with paragraph (1) of this subsection. Such report shall address the number, type, and disposition of written requests for the association to organize and administer regional or state events for additional or different sports; written requests for information regarding the types of athletic events for public high school students that the association organizes and administers; and written inquiries and complaints received by the association with respect to gender discrimination in connection with public high school events. The report shall address all such written requests, inquiries, and complaints, regardless of whether such request, inquiry, or complaint is made by letter, e-mail, memorandum, or any other form of written communication. Each report shall cover the time period beginning on July 1 of the previous year and ending on June 30 of the year in which the report is due. In addition, the association shall have in effect a policy requiring notification to persons who make such requests, inquiries, or complaints verbally that such request, inquiry, or complaint will not be included in the association's reporting to the General Assembly regarding compliance with this Code section unless such request, inquiry, or complaint is made in writing.

4.62 Open Meeting/Open Records: The Georgia High School Association shall comply with the requirements of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to the inspection of public records, and Chapter 14 of Title 50, relating to open and public meetings, to the extent that such records and meetings relate to the association's activities with respect to public high schools; provided, however, that such association shall not be required to comply with such statutes or to conduct open and public meetings or provide inspection of records where the sole subject of such meeting or record pertains to the academic records or performance of an individual student or the eligibility of an individual student to participate or to continue to participate in sponsored events or contests based on academics; provided. However, where a meeting or record of such association is devoted in part to matters excepted in the preceding proviso, any portion of the meeting or record not subject to such exception shall be open to the public.

4.63 Steroids/Performance Enhancing Drugs: The Georgia High School Association strongly opposes the use of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances by high school student-athletes. The GHSA believes that such usage violates legal, ethical and competitive-equity standards and imposes unreasonable long-term health risks on the user. The GHSA encourages member schools to educate students and coaches about the perils of steroid usage, and the GHSA will distribute educational materials about this issue to member schools.

4.64 Penalties for Violations: In accordance with the GHSA Constitution, the Executive Director is empowered to make a determination as to whether a violation of GHSA rules has occurred, and to assess the appropriate penalty which may include a fine and/or probation. A non-exhaustive list of violations and fines is published in Appendix P of the Constitution & By-Laws.

4.65 Indemnification: The GHSA shall, to the extent legally permissible, indemnify each person who may serve or who has served at any timeas an officer, committee member, employee or volunteer of the GHSA against all expenses and liabilities, including, without limitation, counsel fees, judgments, fines, excise taxes, penalties and settlement payments, reasonably incurred by or imposed upon such person in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding in which he or she may become involved by reason of his or her service in such capacity; provided that no indemnification shall be provided for any such person with respect to any matter as to which he or she shall have been finally adjudicated in any proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such action was in the best interests of the GHSA; and further provided that any compromise or settlement payment, other than those funded by insurance, shall be approved by a majority vote of a quorum of GHSA Executive Committee who are not at that time parties to the proceeding. The GHSA may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect any such person against any such liability, cost or expense.

4.66 Executive Oversight Committee:

  1. There is hereby established an Executive Oversight Committee comprised of ten (10) members as follows:
    1. One member to be appointed by the Governor;
    2. One member to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;
    3. One member to be appointed by Speaker of the House of Representatives;
    4. Two members to be appointed by the Georgia School Superintendents Association, with one such member representing approximately one-half of the Georgia High School Association members with classifications based on lower student enrollment figures and the other such member representing approximately one-half of the members with classifications based on higher student enrollment figures;
    5. One member to be appointed by the Georgia School Boards Association;
    6. One member to be appointed by a state-wide association of high school athletic coaches with a current membership of not less than 300 Georgia residents and which is recognized by a majority of the Executive Oversight Committee;
    7. One member to be appointed by a state-wide association of high school athletic officials, referees, and umpires with a current membership of not less than 300 Georgia residents and which is recognized by a majority of the Executive Oversight Committee;
    8. Two members to be appointed by the governing body of the Georgia High School Association, with one such member representing approximately one-half of the member schools based on lower student enrollment figures and the other such member representing member schools based on higher student enrollment figures;
  2. A quorum of the Executive Oversight Committee shall consist of six (6) members.
  3. The Executive Oversight Committee shall elect a chairperson and vice chairperson from among its members.
  4. Members of the Executive Oversight Committee shall serve terms of three (3) years (except for the initial terms set forth below) and are eligible to succeed themselves only once. In order to establish a rotation of terms to ensure that a majority of the members’ terms do not expire concurrently, the members of the Executive Oversight Committee set forth above in paragraph (A)(1),(2) and (3) shall serve an initial term of one (1) year; the members set forth in paragraph (A) (4), (5) and (6) shall serve an initial term of two (2) years; and the members set forth in paragraph (A) (7) and (8) shall serve initial terms of three (3) years. Thereafter, members of the Executive Oversight Committee shall serve terms of three (3) years. In the event of a vacancy in any seat, the appointing officer or body shall be authorized to appoint a replacement member for the remainder of the term.
  5. The authority and duties of the Executive Oversight Committee shall include:
    1. To meet in person or remotely not less than twice each school year;
    2. To meet in person or remotely upon the call of the chairperson or a majority of the Executive Oversight Committee;
    3. To establish policies and procedures for the Executive Oversight Committee;
    4. To conduct any independent audit, review or investigation the Executive Oversight Committee deems necessary, including, but not limited to, the audit, review, or investigation of the classifications of participating schools and travel-related issues of participating schools;
    5. To conduct an annual evaluation of the Georgia High School Association as a whole and present a report of its findings, recommendations, and conclusions to the General Assembly’s High School Athletics Overview Committee.
  6. Travel and other expenses actually incurred by the Executive Oversight Committee, or any member thereof in the performance of his or her duties, shall be reimbursed by the Georgia High School Association.