BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – State Rep. Brock Colvin believes it’s time to reconsider how immigrant students are counted at schools like his alma mater, Albertville High School, under the Alabama High School Athletic Association system.
He argues that current enrollment-based classifications don’t accurately reflect the number of students available to participate in sports, putting some schools at a competitive disadvantage.
House Bill 298 proposes a change: English learner students in their first five years of enrollment would not be counted in classification totals unless they choose to participate in athletics.
Colvin, R-Albertville, said many of the Hispanic students that are enrolled in the high school have little interest in extracurricular activities.
“A lot of the EL kids are here to work,” he said. As a result, Albertville struggles to field a deep enough football team to compete at the 7A level – the highest classification in Alabama.
Albertville High School is currently classified as 7A based on enrollment, but Colvin argues that doesn’t reflect reality.
“We really are a 5A school, maybe a small 6A school,” he said. “But we’re playing Hoover and Vestavia and Sparkman and Huntsville and Grissom.”
Colvin’s bill will be considered Wednesday in the House Education Policy Committee meeting.
Albertville isn’t alone in facing this issue. Other high schools with large EL populations have also struggled to field competitive football teams. While the bill applies to all sports, football – which requires the largest number of players – is where the impact is most felt. For many Alabama towns, high school football is a source of pride and connection.
“In small communities like Albertville, Boaz, Russellville, Crossville, Geraldine, high school sports are kind of the backbone of the community,” Colvin said. When participation dwindles, communities lose that connection.
“Crossville doesn’t even have a football team anymore,” he said. News reports show Crossville High School dropped their varsity football program in 2023 because of low participation.
Albertville, like half a dozen other cities in Alabama, has seen a significant influx of immigrants, primarily Hispanic and Latino, but also some Haitian families.
The city’s school district has grown from 3,200 students in 1995 to 5,300 today. Nearly all of that growth has come from Hispanic enrollment, which increased from 236 students in 1995 to 3,478 this year. Meanwhile, during the same time period, the number of white students has declined from 2,925 to 1,727.
Albertville High School itself has grown from 843 students in 1995 to 1,710 last year. However, enrollment dropped to 1,200 this year after the opening of the Albertville Innovation Academy – a magnet school focused on career tech and EL education that drew 500 students from the high school.
As the school grew, athletic struggles followed. Albertville’s football team hasn’t won a game since August 2022, ending the 2024 season with 28 consecutive losses. Colvin said that kind of record makes student-athletes consider transferring elsewhere – an option that’s easier than ever with Alabama’s expanding school choice programs.
The CHOOSE Act, which takes effect this fall, provides eligible students with a $7,000 education savings account to cover tuition at participating schools, including public schools outside their district that charge tuition. With five school districts in Marshall County alone, students now have more flexibility to transfer.
“I supported the (CHOOSE Act),” Colvin said. “And in a time where school choice is becoming an opportunity for parents and kids in Alabama, that’s only going to accelerate this problem with public schools.”
Albertville Superintendent Bart Reeves supports Colvin’s bill, saying it would create a more level playing field.
“We’re not trying to exclude anybody,” Reeves said. “But we would like to be able to have fair play.”
Reeves noted that Albertville is seeing athletic success in other sports. The high school soccer team is currently ranked number five in the state, and the basketball program just finished a great season.
The proposal has drawn criticism, with some questioning whether it unfairly excludes EL students.
Colvin said they aren’t proposing excluding EL students who want to participate, just shrinking the count to include them. Lawmakers approved a similar exception for the state report card, exempting EL student achievement during the first five years a student is in an Alabama school if the student is not proficient on a test of English proficiency.
Colvin and local officials previously submitted a proposal to the AHSAA asking for a classification adjustment, but officials weren’t receptive. Colvin recently met with AHSAA Director Heath Harmon but said the response was clear.
“It was a cordial meeting, but they let it be very clear they are not interested in supporting this piece of legislation,” he said.
“That organization has in the past failed the student athletes in my district, and I can’t wait to act anymore. I just can’t,” Colvin said.
Harmon did not return Alabama Daily News’ request for comment.
Colvin’s bill has been included in the anti-illegal immigration package of legislation Republicans are prioritizing this session, but he said this issue is not about people here illegally.
“Immigration is not new to us,” Colvin stressed. “We’ve had Hispanic immigrants here for two decades.”
His bill will help remove the “negative stigma” attached to EL students with respect to the fast growth of the high school and the higher AHSAA classification, which Colvin said is “misleading.”
“Allowing this policy to take place will actually allow parents and community members in our school system to say, ‘Okay, we’ve gotten that problem solved.'”