The Senate Education Committee today heard testimony on proposed legislation that would officially designate high school cheerleading a sport in New Jersey.

Brick Memorial High School cheerleaders
Brick Memorial High School cheerleaders (Townsquare Media NJ)
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The bill, sponsored by State Senator Brian Stack (D-Hudson) would require cheerleading coaches to get training "specific to the sport of cheerleading and the safety of cheerleaders." Gyms and fitness centers where cheerleaders train would be required to make safety harnesses available.

State Senator Diane Allen (R) spoke in favor of the bill and said some cheerleaders are in better shape that the players. "They also in many cases are doing things that take an amazing amount of practice and agility. This is a sport," said Allen according to NJ.com.

A spokesman for the New Jersey Scholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA)  tells NJ.com they don't want to be forced by legislation to accept cheerleading as a sport. "Generally proposals like this come through the membership, where the high schools themselves look to add sports," said Michael Cherenson, adding that it would "change the nature of cheerleading as it stands now."

The NJSIAA's executive committee, meanwhile, has recommended three major changes for its membership to consider. The first is a tougher policy on athlete transfers that would force varsity athletes who transfer to sit out 30 days and also be ineligible to compete in the state tournament. The only exception would be if the athlete is transferring from one non-choice public school to another with a legitimate change of address the reason.

Kevin Williams of the Shore Sports Network says the transfer rule is in response to public schools who feel the playing field is uneven because private schools can recruit players from anywhere while public schools are limited to their own district."This is the latest attempt to stem the tide, especially with the language that there is no appeals process because in many cases parents and athletes won those appeals.

The second proposal would create a separate football conference for 37 non-public schools such as Donovan Catholic in Toms River and Bergen Catholic in Paramus. The schools could continue to play public schools but as a non-conference game. Williams says the most support for the change comes from North Jersey schools where non-public schools dominate the public schools. "My impression is that the majority of the 37 non-public schools are opposed to being in their own conference but as the minority they will face an uphill battle to defeat the proposal in December," says Williams.

The third and final proposal would add a wrestling region and four districts for all the non-public schools so they only competed against one another until the state championships in Atlantic City.

All three proposals will go up for a vote of the full NJSIAA membership in December at their meeting in Edison. Any approved measures would go into effect for the 2016-17 season.

Kevin Williams contributed to this report

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