Senator Cleo Fields calls on leaders to suspend athletic events for fall 2020 school semester

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State Senator Cleo Fields is calling on education leaders to suspend athletic events for the fall 2020 school semester to ensure the health and safety of Louisiana’s students and athletes.

 

In a letter sent today to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and the Louisiana School Boards Association, Fields urges the suspension of all athletic activities that involve in-person participation by students in a group setting for the upcoming fall semester, including conditioning, practice, team meetings, and games.


 

His letter to Sandy Holloway, BESE President, urges BESE to adopt a rule suspending all athletic activities for the fall semester at its upcoming special meeting, set for July 14, 2020 and the Senator’s letter to the Louisiana School Boards Association requests the association to reach out to all local school boards and superintendents to request that they voluntarily suspend fall athletic activities.

 

During the First Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana State Legislature, Fields authored Senate Resolution 39 requesting BESE to adopt CDC-aligned rules to protect the health and safety of school personnel and the public at athletic activities held on school property during the 2020-2021 school year.

 

“Currently, BESE does not have a rule in place to protect our student athletes,” stated Fields. “I’m asking them to step up and take action to protect our children.”


 

Fields says that the nature of activities such as athletic practices and games requires too much close proximity to be conducted safely as long as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and that suspension is necessary until such time as the health and safety of student athletes can be ensured.

 

“This is a critical issue and it is too important to leave solely up to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association,” writes Fields. “It is our responsibility to ensure that the health and safety of our children is placed above any athletic endeavor at any time or place.”