Parochial school students to have more athletic opportunities in Pa. under new agreement
.jpg "The PIAA logo is reflected in the pool at swimming championships at Bucknell in March 2022.")
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- Federal judge approves agreement allowing parochial students in PIAA sports
- PIAA expected to amend bylaws by October following legal pressure and ruling
- Parents must contact districts, complete forms to confirm student eligibility
In a move that expands athletic opportunities for high schoolers in Pennsylvania, a federal judge signed off Monday on an interim agreement that allows students enrolled in faith-based schools to compete in public school sports.
The Thomas More Society — which represented a Centre County family and others who sued Pennsylvania’s governing body for high school sports — hailed the agreement as a “significant win for religious students who were previously excluded from participating in PIAA-regulated sports at their home school districts.”
“It is rewarding to see talented parochial school athletes finally being allowed to participate in their home school district’s athletic programs,” attorney Thomas Breth said in a statement. “This is a huge relief for parents and students across Pennsylvania who have been unnecessary excluded from participation simply because of their desire to pursue a faith-based education.”
Effective Monday, the agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann allows parochial school students to participate in athletic programs at their home school district if their parochial school does not offer the same sport.
The Centre County-based Religious Rights Foundation of PA argued the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s bylaws violated the First Amendment’s free exercise and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clauses. The nonprofit pointed to what they argued were a handful of exceptions for other groups such as students at charter, cyber or private schools, but not those at parochial schools.
“We’re thrilled that as a result of our efforts, parochial school families are no longer forced to choose between a religious education and equal access to the full range of educational opportunities offered to other students at their home school districts,” Breth said. “We couldn’t be prouder to have worked alongside these great families to end this longstanding discrimination.”
In a court filing, the PIAA said it expects to amend its bylaws in October. Still, with Brann’s signature on the interim agreement, parochial school students are eligible to participate in PIAA-regulated sports immediately.
Parents of eligible students who wish to enroll in sports at their home district should contact the athletic director and superintendent of their home school district. The PIAA would then have to confirm the students’ eligibility, while parents would have to complete paperwork, proof of a physical, grades and attendance.
A message left Monday afternoon with the PIAA was not immediately returned.
“The PIAA’s current Bylaws are in direct violation of the constitutional rights of families who wish to provide their children with a faith-based education, while still pursuing athletic opportunities in their home school districts,” Breth said.
The agreement came three months after the Religious Rights Foundation secured a similar settlement with the State College Area School District. The district agreed to accept students from religious-based schools into extracurricular and cocurricular activities, including athletics.
SCASD did not admit liability, though its insurer agreed to pay the nonprofit’s attorneys $150,000.
School district attorney Paul J. Cianci previously told the Centre Daily Times that SCASD believed it could not permit parochial school student participation, in part, because the PIAA disfavored it. But as that litigation unfolded, Cianci said the district determined that is “not always the case.”
“Because PIAA’s position on this subject is not clear, the Consent Order provides essentially that PIAA must first approve of parochial school student participation on School District sports teams before there is any obligation on the part of the School District to permit the participation,” Cianci wrote in an email.
The district sought to have the lawsuit dismissed in December 2023, but it was rejected by Brann.
“Regardless of what reasons some parents may have for sending their children to a non-public school, a religious reason has the same value as a secular reason,” Brann wrote in his opinion. “If some exemptions are made, a school’s refusal to make a religious one enforces a value judgment preferring secular conduct over religious.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 4:09 PM.