Florida High Schools To Begin Charging Students To Play Sports Beginning Next School Year

Students at a number of schools in Florida will either have to pay up or risk sitting out next year if they hope to play high school sports after a new set fee was introduced to participate in athletics.

According to Florida news station WFLA Channel 8, Pinellas County Schools Athletic Director Marc Allison said that the school district will begin charging families a set fee per sport starting with the 2026-27 school year.

Allison told the station that the fees will allow the county, which contains 18 different high schools and over two dozen middle schools, to add additional sports at varying grade levels.

“We heard loudly that our families want us to offer more opportunities for our kids, more student experiences,” he said. “We have a great opportunity to influence additional students, (and) we know that at a high level of engagement, kids that are invested in their schools do better academically and they stay.”

According to the plan, the county will add high school boys’ volleyball, middle school boys and girls’ soccer, high school competition cheer, and will extend girls’ volleyball to students in additional grades.

Additionally, Allison said that the news fees are in hopes of being more competitive with area private schools.

How Much Will Florida High Schools Charge To Participate In Sports?

So, what exactly will it cost a student to play a sport next school year?

For now, the district has set the fee at $50 per sport, regardless of the sport. Additionally, Allison states that the maximum a family would have to pay, even with multiple children enrolled in sports programs, is $200 per school year.

Understandably, some parents in the county have concerns over the new plan.

“In one case, your school is able to update your equipment, buy new things for the students, update jerseys, keep it safe and up to date,” Malia Bakken, who has children in the school system, told the network. “It could be harder for parents who have multiple children in sports or have other obligations.”

But Pinellas isn’t the first county in Florida to try this approach.

Allison claims that he researched the surrounding counties for comparison before setting the fees. Pasco County charges $80 for the first sport, and $50 for a second, with a maximum cost of $200 per family. Hernando County charges $50 for the first sport, $30 for the second, with a maximum cost of $90 for families of middle school students and $110 for families of high school students.

But what if the costs are still prohibitive? Allison says that Pinellas’ administration is still working through the specifics of that.

“We don’t have all the details,” he said. “But I imagine it would be similar to the insurance where they’re on free and reduced lunch, and they qualify, then that would be an opportunity.”