Section 16-1604-A - Council recommendations and standards(a) The association shall take all steps necessary to comply with the recommendations of the council, including recommendations concerning appeals, athletic eligibility and transfers of students.(b) The association shall take all steps necessary to comply with the following standards: (1) Adopt and adhere to policies governing the conduct of open meetings that conform with the requirements of 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings).(2) Adopt and adhere to a policy establishing a competitive bidding process for the purchase of nonincidental merchandise and services that conforms with the requirements of this act.(3) Adopt and adhere to a policy establishing a competitive process for the selection of sites for championship competitions.(4) Agree to an annual financial and management review conducted by the committee. (i) Such reviews shall indicate whether the association has:(A) conformed with accepted accounting practices;(B) conformed with all Federal and State statutes governing the administration of nonprofit organizations;(C) conformed with accepted administrative and management practices; and(D) contracted with employes who have fulfilled the duties for which they were contracted and act in the best interests of interscholastic athletics.(ii) The committee shall report its findings from this review to the council, which shall make any appropriate recommendations to the association.(5) Ensure that the membership of its board of directors includes the following who shall be full, voting members: (i) One member representing school boards of directors who is an elected member of a school board of directors at the time of appointment.(ii) One member representing athletic directors who is employed as an athletic director at the time of appointment.(iii) One member representing coaches who is employed as a coach at the time of appointment.(iv) One member representing officials who is an active official at the time of appointment.(v) One member representing the Department of Education.(vi) One member representing school administrators who is employed as a school administrator at the time of appointment.(vii) One member representing women's athletics.(viii) One member representing nonpublic schools.(ix) Two members representing parents.(6) Not require any member school entity to reimburse the association for legal fees and expenses incurred by the association or any of its personnel in defending a legal action authorized by a member school entity and brought against the association or any of its personnel and take action to repeal any present rule or policy authorizing such reimbursement prior to the final report of the council.(7) Adopt an evaluation system for game officials at district, interdistrict and championship competitions and utilize that evaluation system in the selection of individuals to officiate those contests.(8) Adopt and adhere to a policy prohibiting conflicts of interest and setting forth rules of ethics to be followed by association board members and employes.(9) Employ in-house counsel.(10) Evaluate the performance of its contracted employes to determine whether they have complied with the provisions of their contracts and to determine whether termination is appropriate for any association employes who have violated the provisions of their contracts.(11) Adopt no rules restricting media access to interscholastic athletic competitions or restricting the substance of any commentary offered by media reporting of interscholastic athletic competitions.(12) Adopt rules intended to discourage its member school entities from recruiting student athletes, provided that: (i) Such rules and any penalties levied for their breach shall be directed at the association's member schools and not at individual student athletes who may have been the subject of recruiting.(ii) Any and all procedures established to gather evidence related to the enforcement of such rules shall place the burden of proof of the breach of such rules on the association and shall afford any member school entity due process rights in defending itself against the allegations, including a right to a hearing on the charges before the imposition of penalties.(iii) The association is specifically prohibited from identifying individual student athletes as subjects or targets of such procedures.(13) Establish a policy, including a mechanism for enforcement, requiring that persons involved in interscholastic athletics be provided equality of opportunity and treatment without regard to race, sex, religion, national origin or ethnic background.(14) By August 8, 2011, establish a policy requiring that students who in the current or prior school year attended a school entity that has abolished its program of interscholastic athletics in whole or in part shall be eligible to participate without penalty in the program of interscholastic athletics of another school entity in which they are currently enrolled, provided that: (i) If the association fails to establish and enforce the policy, no school entity may be a member of the association and may not pay dues to the association directly or indirectly through an affiliated organization.(ii) No school entity that is a member of the association may recruit to participate in its program of interscholastic athletics any students who attend a school entity that has abolished its program of interscholastic athletics.(iii) If a school entity that has abolished its program of interscholastic athletics in whole or in part reinstates its program of interscholastic athletics in whole or in part in a subsequent year, a student who is currently or was previously enrolled in the school entity but who has participated in the program of interscholastic athletics of another school entity under this section shall be eligible to participate without penalty in the program of interscholastic athletics of the school entity that reinstated its previously abolished program in whole or in part.1949, March 10, P.L. 30, No. 14, art. XVI-A, § 1604-A, added 2000, Nov. 22, P.L. 672, No. 91, § 5, effective in 90 days. Amended 2011, June 30, P.L. 112, No. 24, § 24, imd. effective.