Cambridge Christian School

The panel concluded that announcements over the loudspeaker at the 2015 game were “government speech.”

A new state law could help short-circuit a legal battle about whether the school was improperly barred from offering a prayer over a stadium loudspeaker before a 2016 high-school football championship game.

Proposed legislation would shrink the FHSAA board of directors, allow prayers before sporting events for all to hear, and allow schools to join other sports organizations.

Bill sponsor Jay Collins, R-Tampa, said the bill is intended to provide state “oversight” of the athletics board.

It comes as an appeals court prepares to hear arguments in a battle between the Florida High School Athletic Association Cambridge Christian School in Tampa.

The Tampa school went to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year after a federal judge backed a decision by the FHSAA to prevent a prayer over the loudspeaker.

It cited legal precedents, including U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a high school football coach who lost his job after praying on the field after games.

The ruling said the Florida High School Athletic Association did not violate First Amendment rights when it refused to allow Cambridge Christian and Jacksonville’s University Christian School to offer a prayer over the public-address system before their game.

It stems from the FHSAA's decision to Cambridge Christian School of Tampa from offering a prayer before a football championship game at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.

Cambridge Christian School is involved in a federal lawsuit after being denied use of a public address system before a 2016 high school football title game.

As a three-year legal battle continues over the issue, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran wants the Florida High School Athletic Association to…

A federal appeals court Wednesday overturned the dismissal of a lawsuit about whether the Florida High School Athletic Association improperly prevented…