Legislation will be introduced in the General Assembly to give local school districts the decision on fall high school sports and an extra year in school for students whose parents feel they have not received an “acceptable educational experience.”

While the specific language of the legislation is not yet available, the prime sponsors detailed what their legislation would accomplish in a press conference this week in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

Jesse Topper, R-Bradford/Franklin/Fulton, said his legislation is “designed to provide hope” for students and families.

Arguing that the decisions to mitigate the COVID-19 virus should be kept local, Topper said. “I firmly believe that schools need to reopen with face to face instruction as much as possible and extracurricular activities.”

He said that if those opportunities are not available “then we no longer have the opportunity to call that public education,” challenging the quality of the last few months of the 2019-20 school year, as well.

“If a family feels that their child or children are not obtaining an acceptable education experience during this coming school year then they have the right to ask that school district for another year at that grave level for their student.”

That’s where the extra year of eligibility comes in.

“And every opportunity,” Topper said, “that would normally be available to that student for that grade level will be made available when schools are fully able to reopen.”

He said that Pennsylvanians “must not allow fear to paralyze us and keep our children from the pursuit of their goals and their dreams.”

A companion piece of legislation put forward by Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland/Somerset, would take the sports decision away from the Governor’s Office and place it in the hands of local school districts.

He was critical of Gov. Tom Wolf’s statement recommending a delay of sports that “created shockwaves throughout the athletic community of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

He outlined the benefits of extracurricular activities and said those life lessons would be taken away without those opportunities.

Challenging Wolf for allegedly not contacting the PIAA or local school districts before making his recommendation, Reese said “it’s appropriate to empower” local officials to make the decision.

“My legislative proposal (would) guarantee that school boards make these decisions, not the governor, not us, locally elected officials on the ground.”

He said that the model Wolf implemented for return to school planning.

“Sports should be no different,” he said. “I think we need to let them play as best they can.”