House Bill 457

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s (“JLOSC”) review of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (“DIAA”). As part of JLOSC’s review of DIAA, JLOSC recommended the following updates to the DIAA statute, which this Act fulfills: – Establish term limits for certain DIAA Board members of no more than 3, 3-year terms for a total of 9 years. – Add language to address the removal of a board member for gross inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance. – Change DIAA Board member composition to add a third school district superintendent or assistant superintendent to create equitable representation among all 3 counties in this State; add a third nonpublic school representative; ensure that 1 of the 6 public members is a parent of a current or recent student athlete from a member school; and make the Department of Education member a voting member. – Clarify quorum and number of votes required to approve an act of the DIAA Board. – Authorize DIAA to pursue sponsorship opportunities and other non-tournament related revenue streams, and the purchase of general liability insurance relating to the rental of non-State venues for DIAA-sponsored events. – Clarify when a member’s county of residence is a qualification versus the county in which the school the member is representing is a qualification. – Make technical corrections throughout DIAA’s statute, to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Among the technical corrections is correction of references to the “state Board” when the references are intended to use the defined term “State Board” for the State Board of Education.