OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Ty Burns, R-Pawnee, attended the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) board meeting Wednesday and said what he saw confirmed his belief the association’s structure prioritizes bureaucracy over the needs of students and families.

Burns, a former public school teacher and coach, previously studied OSSAA policies through an interim study in 2022. The study examined the association’s finances and governance, student eligibility rules for transfers and included testimony from parents and attorneys who raised concerns about hardship waivers and transparency.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Burns said the board voted unanimously to deny an appeal on the eligibility of Glencoe High School basketball players and to reject a hardship request from another student. He said these are just two examples of why the current system should be dismantled.

“The OSSAA is structured in a way that is unfair to student athletes and families,” Burns said. “They make families jump through hoops and waste time and money just to keep overwhelming power and control in the hands of their board. When the board votes unanimously to protect the status quo, it proves they are protecting the establishment, not the kids.”

Burns said the 12-member board, composed mostly of school superintendents, operates with little accountability while controlling decisions that affect students statewide. “It’s time to dismantle the OSSAA and build a new system that stands independently, not controlled by the hierarchy of superintendents,” Burns said.

In 2022, Burns authored House Bill 3968, which would have allowed students transferring during the summer to a school district outside their residence to remain eligible for sports, with exceptions for dependents of active military personnel.

The OSSAA oversees athletics, fine arts and other extracurricular activities for more than 430 school districts statewide. Current policy requires certain student-athletes transferring outside their home district to wait one year before regaining eligibility.

“We are 50th in the nation in education,” Burns said. “We should be empowering kids rather than sacrificing them. The only way forward is to abolish this broken system and replace it with one that puts students and families first.”