A federal civil rights complaint was filed against the NYC Public Schools Athletic League, stating that the fall 2023 decision to end ‘guaranteed individual access’ has negatively impacted Black and Latino kids’ access to sports.

The complaint states that many sports teams have been eliminated because not enough students signed up for the sport. It adds that for these students, going elsewhere to play the sport is not an option.

NYC Schools adopted a policy in spring 2023 to provide all students with individual access to PSAL and brought Black and Latino kids equitable access to sports. After a settlement, new terms were enacted, giving the PSAL free reign to do anything – including eliminating that individual access.

“What they’re doing is basically saying if you go to school that has a sport you don’t want play you can’t try out at another school,” said David Garcia-Rosen, director of school culture for the Bronx Academy of Letters. “We had four boys that wanted to play soccer, but we didn’t have at the school… they played at a different school and for some reason… they’re not allowed anymore.”

The goal of the complaint is to ensure students can have access to sports at any school citywide, even if it isn’t at a school where they take classes.