Leading off today: This is lengthy, but I wanted to pull many elements together in one scribble partly as a starting point for newbies who take interest in the issue as it works its way through court (almost certainly) , Albany politics (perhaps), and future NYSPHSAA Executive Committee consideration (absolutely).
Friday was more of an incremental step than a final verdict
Let the countdowns begin.
In the short term, the clock is now ticking on the first lawsuit(s) to be filed. That much feels inevitable.
In the longer term, and barring outside intervention (courts, politicians, etc.), we're looking at May 2028 as the earliest date that the New York State Public High School Athletic Association revisits in any depth the topic of public and private schools competing against each other for championships.
That's where we stand following Friday's follow-up meeting by a cross-section of NYSPHSAA members, public-school superintendents, and representatives of non-public and charter schools.
Here's how we got there:
NYSPHSAA Executive Committee members, sectional directors, and the ad hoc School Without Boundaries reps were sent home earlier this year with three options for their respective sectional organizations to consider.
Friday's verdict wasn't unanimous and wasn't even a majority. But, in conjunction with an overwhelming vote last fall, it was decisive enough. Five of the association's 11 sections
voted to stay the course, giving its existing policy a two-year run while evaluating whether criteria applied consistently at the local level and corrections made when necessary by a Classification Oversight Committee with teeth can satisfy those who sought moving non-public and charter schools into separate postseason competition.
The latest round in the ongoing public vs. private debate began two years ago and should have been settled policy after the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee voted by a 20-2 margin to adopt its updated approach.
The new criteria for classifying the non-public and charter schools hadn't even kicked in -- 2026 fall-season teams were the first subjected to the new process -- before the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents (LHCSS) pressed Section 1 to seek a do-over.
The first that most people heard of the development was in the form of a letter the superintendents wrote to the executive directors from Sections 1 and 9 the day after Christmas. As more information dripped out, we learned part of the rationale was that some superintendents across the state were unaware of or insufficiently updated on the ad hoc committee's progress.
That notion was literally met with derision at February's quarterly NYSPHSAA Executive Committee meeting. A quarter of the larger Central Committee is comprised of superintendents, and they and Executive Committee members and sectional directors were briefed on the progress of the ad hoc committee -- which included some superintendents -- at quarterly meetings. Superintendents are commonplace in sectional Athletic Councils.
Still, with Section 1 formally requesting a fresh look, the ad hoc committee, chaired by Alden CSD Superintendent Adam Stoltman, was re-activated -- this time supplemented by superintendents from each section.
They revisited their previous recommendations, heard from four scholastic association executive directors from states that have also wrestled with how to deal with private schools, and formulated the three options that were voted on Friday: stay the course for two years, continue the process of seeking alternatives, or start the separation process for postseason competition.
The vote may not have been as decisive as last fall, but a broader and well-credentialed group arrived at the same conclusion.
It's not as though there aren't legitimate concerns
This is by no means the first time the presence of private schools in NYSPHSAA competition has been challenged. In fact, it's not even the first time a group of superintendents has gone renegade.
Just over a decade ago, Monroe County (Section 5) superintendents wrote to NYSPHSAA Executive Director Robert Zayas, imploring him to banish non-public schools from sectional and state postseason action in large part because of recruiting allegations that they never substantiated. Beginning with the fact that the executive director has no power to act unilaterally on such matters, that letter demonstrated a remarkable inability to make a persuasive case. Nevertheless, the Executive Committee studied fresh approaches and ultimately determined that newly tightened rules eliminated some loopoles and trimmed the number of transfers.
This time, though, it felt as though the complaint was coming from a superintendents group that had actually pulled together some coherent thoughts. For instance, Section 1 has a higher percentage of large schools than most sections. Consequently, other sections' policy of promoting consistently successful teams into higher playoff classes has the effect of making the path to state titles for the majority of Section 1 schools that much more difficult.
However, those same superintendents may not have considered that the process now in place is a likely boost to New York Class C and D public schools leery of facing the same private schools in playoffs year after year.
For instance:
• In placement decisions for next fall, Section 5 assigned two girls volleyball teams with Class D BEDS numbers into Class A or B. Its decisions for the 2026-27 winter season include placing two of its smallest boys basketball teams into Class B and two more into Class C. The Batavia Notre Dame girls basketball squad, fresh off a state crown in Class D, is being moved to Class C.
• In Section 8, six of Friends Academy's eight fall sports programs will play at least one class higher than the BEDS number would suggest. Ditto for both its basketball teams in the winter.
• In Section 9, all five of the Mount Academy teams evaluated thus far are earmarked to play above the lowest classification.
That being said, bad optics are bad optics. And that's what we had in girls basketball at Hudson Valley Community College last month. The Class AAA final was between Albertus Magnus and Aquinas, both already playing up in the highest classification. The Class A final four included Our Lady of Mercy, Utica Notre Dame, and Albany Academy -- two of whom were already bumped up in class. (Barring an appeal next month, Notre Dame and Albany Academy are headed to Class AA next winter and Mercy to AAA.)
Two years earlier, private schools swept the championships in girls basketball's four largest classifications. Later that year, a first occurred when two private schools met for the championship in football's large-school division.
"It's easy just to count championships," Jeremy Luft, president-elect of the LHCS, told LoHud.com this week, "but if you look at it from an opportunity loss for students, how many public school students never had an opportunity to participate in that championship by virtue of whatever powerhouse made their way through sectionals and eliminated a bunch of teams along the way, then they made their way through regionals and eliminated more public schools, then in the semifinals or finals did the same?
"It's a much greater number."
Public school administrators, coaches, and parents base much of their opposition to private schools on the fact they can enroll students from multiple school districts. That's an undeniable advantage, but the Schools Without Boundaries ad hoc committee discovered that was not the entirety of the story. Early in the fact-finding process last year, the discussion turned to the ability of students to "tuition-in" at public schools or cross district lines under union contracts because a parent is employed there. In Section 5, numerous nearby school districts monitize empty seats -- remember, state aid follows the student -- by accepting Rochester City School District students through the Urban-Suburban program.
The committee even called a brief timeout at one point so that its members could return to their home sections and determine how pervasive those policies are.
New Jersey frequently cited as the model
One cornerstone of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents grievance is that the NYSPHSAA should have considered the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, which separates private schools in team sports from their public counterparts in the postseason.
The proximity of New Jersey to Section 1 and the fact that a number of the superintendents have Garden State roots, attending school or coming up through the teaching and administrative ranks there, understandably piqued their interest.
Consequently, the New Jersey approach has been a significant talking point in the New York discussion this year. To that end, Colleen McGuire, executive director of the NJSIAA, was one of the guests brought in to answer questions at last month's Schools Without Boundaries meeting.
New Jersey has conducted separate team playoffs for private and public schools since the late 1980s but maintains combined individual championships. While that may seem inconsequential to those clamoring to move the non-public and charter schools into their own classifications, it's not that simple.
The New York high school sports structure might not be the most complicated in the country, but it's definitely in the conversation. There are four major governing bodies:
• NYSPHSAA;
• Catholic High School Athletic Association;
• Public School Athletic Association (NYC);
• New York State Association of Independent Schools.
The relationship between the four is complicated, to put it mildly, and it includes conducting some combined championships in sports like wrestling, cross country, and track and field.
That in itself remains a point of contention for some within the NYSPHSAA. For instance, it's not at all implausible that the top two finishers in a state track meet event come from other associations. It makes for an awkward awards ceremony when the top NYSPHSAA finisher is standing in the third-place spot for one photo and then atop the podium 90 seconds later for the second photo.
Now, envision three awards ceremonies: Overall place-winners, NYSPHSAA public place-winners (whose best performer now may have finished fourth overall), and non-public/charter place-winners.
What's the solution? Booting the CHSAA, PSAL, and AIS from those meets? The NYSPHSAA would still be left crowning separate champions if the non-public and charter schools are moved into their own class. And without the best from New York City also competing, would the winners feel like genuine "state" champions?
It's no trivial consideration. It matters, sometimes when it comes to scholarship money and sometimes as a matter of personal pride. (See: Muzashvili, Nick)
If nothing else constitutes a reason why the New Jersey scenario is an imperfect New York solution, there's still the matter of geography.
New York is six times the size of New Jersey, a state that literally would fit comfortably inside the Adirondack Park. North to South, New Jersey runs about 175 miles. In New York, that distance only gets you from Geneva to Schenectady or Plattsburgh to Coxsackie.
While separating out the non-public and charter schools would still leave the more than 650 NYSPHSAA public schools with relatively nearby opponents in the early rounds of state tournaments, it would be a different story for 90 private and charter schools spread across 54,500 square miles.
Those schools would face the burden of more expensive travel, and longer distances translate into more missed classroom time.
(An aside: If the private schools are moved into their own playoff classes, one of the first logistics challenges will be squeezing extra contests into final four venue schedules. It may require adding expensive days to the tournament or lead to the NYSPHSAA trimming a class from sports that currently have six divisions. With public schools winning approximately 90% of all state titles in recent years, there's an undeniable irony in reducing the number of trophies they win.)
Here's why Friday didn't necessarily put the issue to rest
Whereas the Monroe County superintendents went home in short order with its collective tail between its legs a decade ago, the LHCSS has been more persistent and organized in pursuing its objective.
They've reached out to the State Education Department (the SED sent Senior Deputy Commissioner for Education Policy Jeffrey Matteson and Assistant Commissioner Gemma Rinefierd to the ad hoc committee meeting last month), which sets broader state policy but has no direct oversight of the NYSPHSAA, and have mustered a level of in-section support that the Section 5 superintendents never had.
"Oftentimes, when we speak to Dr. Zayas, we're getting a very nebulous answer, if any, and we're not getting any type of leadership that's coming out and saying, ‘OK, we recognize there are inequities here, and we need to move to a more equitable environment where students in public schools aren't being disenfranchised anymore,'", Section 1 President and Clarkstown Superintendent Marc Baiocco told LoHud.com.
In a measure widely understood to apply pressure ahead of Friday's vote, the Section 1 Executive Committee held a special meeting on March 23 and put in motion the process to potentially amend its constitution to exclude its four non-public schools from tournament play. Albertus Magnus, Ursuline, Leffell and Keio would be able to compete against each other in a parallel tournament but would have no path to participation in NYSPHSAA championships.
Such a move is possible since the NYSPHSAA leaves it to the sections to determine their champions. Having been rebuked via Friday's vote, it's expected Section 1 will move forward with the process. Most notably affected would be Albertus Magnus, which just won its third consecutive state title in girls basketball.
Still, acting against four members removes only one potential impediment to public schools' pursuit of state championships, and it's realistic to expect the private schools to challenge a constitutional change in court. The basis of the case would be they were being left with a postseason that was a championship event in name only and no ability to advance to the state playoffs.
That would be watched closely. If Section 1 were to prevail, other sections might follow. At that point, separate playoffs for the non-public and charter schools would become a necessity whether the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee liked it or not to assist members in good standing, not unlike how they can assist schools in obtaining league membership.
An undesirable slippery slope scenario
Just as Section 1 played a card ahead of Friday's vote, someone with a seat at the table with a different viewpoint could play a card of its own to protect the interests of disenfranchised members in good standing.
If the Section 1 amendment is ratified, what's to stop a proposal originating from the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee to create at-large berths for non-public and charter teams that meet certain criteria (a 60% winning percentage, for instance) but are frozen out of the normal path to the state tournament? Taking it a step further, the at-large team could be assigned to play the public-school qualifier from its home section in the first round.
That's a path no one should relish taking. But I was in the room in February when the Executive Committee was forced into revisiting a policy it has already overwhelmingly approved. Doing so against the wishes of their own section administrators would probably be a career-ender, but I can think of a couple of people on the 22-member Executive Committee who might be exactly that fed up with the tail wagging the dog.
At some level, the frustration is justified. Every moment spent on a topic resolved via a 20-2 vote last October is a moment taken away from other priorities. The Executive Committee has significant existing or upcoming topics needing attention. They include:
• Right-sizing individual championship events bursting at the seems, a tightrope-walking task discussed for months now and in need of focused attention to implement.
• Attracting more venues to bid on championship hosting, creating competition that would help rein in costs.
• Evaluating any potential changed needed in the Three-Region Rotation now that we're wrapping up the first year of the new playoff model.
• The retention and recruitment of game officials, a problem that existed before the pandemic, got worse in the immediate aftermath, and has reached critical status in some sports.
• A periodic review of transfer rules (consistently a priority topic for state associations) and the formula for classifying combined teams .
• Developing greater minority representation across multiple state and sectional committees.
• Balancing more opportunities for students (witness the explosive growth of girls wrestling and flag football) with strategies for maintaining sustainability of existing teams.
