FED rules - why not all States

[GarthB]

Pete, compare these two sentences:

The National Federation of State High School Associations is the national service and administrative organization of high school athletics and fine arts programs in speech, debate and music.

and

Notice the statement "serves its 50 member state high school athletic/activity associations" (for the 50 states), therefore, why are there still a few states not adopting FED rules?

Get it yet? Some states choose to operate within the NFHSS framework for activities other than sports. MA and RI work with FED in music and debate competitions. So FED is indeed in all 50 states.

But let's not stop there. There are even states that operate under NFHSS "auspices" for some sports, but not others. Texas, for example, uses NCAA rules for high school football.

You ask:

Can't the NFHS FORCE these states to adopt their rules?

No, they can't. Adoption is up to each state. And even when FED is adopted by a state, certain rules are governed by local option.

With the recent demise of NFOA, you may well see some of FED's grip on other states slip. I know of talks in some coaching and refereeing circles of Washington state to begin the process of moving to NCAA rules for football.