(a) Each school district governing board shall have general control of, and be responsible for, all aspects of the interscholastic athletic policies, programs, and activities in its district, including, but not limited to, eligibility, season of sport, number of sports, personnel, and sports facilities. In addition, the board shall ensure that all interscholastic policies, programs, and activities in its district are in compliance with state and federal law.

(b) Governing boards may enter into associations or consortia with other boards for the purpose of governing regional or statewide interscholastic athletic programs by permitting the public schools under their jurisdictions to enter into a voluntary association with other schools for the purpose of enacting and enforcing rules relating to eligibility for, and participation in, interscholastic athletic programs among and between schools.

(c) Each governing board, or its designee, shall represent the individual schools located within its jurisdiction in any voluntary association of schools formed or maintained pursuant to this section.

(d) No voluntary interscholastic athletic association, of which any public school is a member, shall discriminate against, or deny the benefits of any program to, any person on any basis prohibited by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no voluntary interscholastic athletic association shall deny a school from participating in interscholastic athletic activities because of the religious tenets of the school, regardless of whether that school is directly controlled by a religious organization.

(f) Interscholastic athletics is defined as those policies, programs, and activities that are formulated or executed in conjunction with, or in contemplation of, athletic contests between two or more schools, either public or private.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 130, Sec. 63. Effective January 1, 2008.)