Gov. John Hickenlooper signs Senate Bill 51, which no longer requires the use of arbitration in the CHSAA appeals process. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday signed a bill into law which no longer requires that binding arbitration be used in the CHSAA appeals process.
Instead of arbitration, a court will be used in the instance an appeal gets to that level going forward.
The bill, Senate Bill 51, was suggested and lobbied for by CHSAA. It specifically deals with the appeals process for students who have been ruled “ineligible to participate in an extracurricular activity.”
CHSAA has a four-step appeals process for ineligible participants. First, the party goes to their league, then to the CHSAA commissioner, then to a three-person committee, and finally to the CHSAA board of directors. At any point during that time, the party can opt to go to court.
The bill amends the state statutes to read, “A student who has completed the appeal process described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (9.5) may seek a preliminary injunction or restraining order from a court of competent jurisdiction.”
Previously, the statute read that an ineligible student could “file a petition or complaint with a group of sitting or retired judges or other group of neutral arbitrators approved by the school, school district, or any organization or association to which the school or school district belongs.”
That statute originally went into effect, in part, as a way to seek more timely and cost-effective resolutions. However, according to CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico, arbitration was typically “three-to-four” times more expensive for the Association and schools, and the process was longer.
Additionally, when rendering their decisions, arbitrators do not have to follow the same strict guidelines as a court does.
“A court has to rule if we had to right to make the rule, and if the rule was applied correctly,” Angelico said. “An arbitrator doesn’t necessarily have the same standard. We felt the court system has been more consistent in how they rule on these issues.”
“This puts every student in the state of Colorado on exactly the same playing field, and doesn’t rely on their financial ability to be able to afford an arbitration hearing,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann, who was heavily involved in the process.
The bill received bipartisan support, and was unanimously approved in both the Senate and the House.
The change takes effect in August.