Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LAPLACE — Next year’s high school playoffs will be a whole new ball game as the Louisiana High School Athletic Association reconfigures its list of select and non-select schools.

When the split of public and private schools was first enacted in 2013, the LHSAA assigned 296 schools as nonselect and only 109 as select. In a change announced last week following a 16-5 vote among the executive committee, the LHSAA now defines select schools as “private or public schools that have a state or parish approved designation as a lab school, magnet school, with one or more magnet components, approved charter schools, parish wide approved open enrollment, state recovery-district (RSD) application-based parish schools, tuition-based schools and/or any established academic and/or retention-based criterion schools.”

Prior to this change, a public school was only considered “select” if at least 25% of its student population resided outside of its school zone.

An unofficial list was released last week naming 211 select and 194 non-select schools, creating a more even division among the two categories. The change would take effect for the 2022-23 school year. However, individuals who feel their school has been incorrectly categorized have until June 21 to submit an appeal in writing to the LHSAA. The LHSAA membership committee will approve a final designation in July 2022, once all appeals are considered.

LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine said there is no need for teams to reschedule games, as the select and nonselect categories are strictly for post season competition.

While St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy remain under the “select” category and East St. John and West St. John will still be classified as “nonselect,” the changes have implications for next year’s playoff match-ups.

St. John Parish’s private schools will now face a larger pool of select competition that, as of now, includes all Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parish public schools. Schools that have made the move to the select category include but are not limited to Edna Karr, Oak Grove, John Ehret. Landry-Walker, Acadiana and Alexandria.