Florida Coach Faces Fine for Housing Homeless Student

by Jennifer Cooper · 2010-10-04 08:36:00 UTC
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Giving a homeless student a roof over his head should be considered a good thing. Instead, Florida high school football coach Bill Buldini could face thousands in fines for letting a player with nowhere to go live with him.

As a means of curbing unfair player recruitment, Florida High School Athletic Association rules prohibit student athletes from living with school employees. Buldini was initially suspended by the Osceola County school district Sept. 24 and returned to both his position as social studies teacher and his coaching job the following Monday. The FHSAA is still conducting an investigation and the player involved, whose name is not being released, is being held out of all practices and games.

Wanting to curb recruitment is understandable, but that is clearly not the issue here. It should be a no-brainer that the rule doesn't apply in this situation, particularly as the student was already on the team. Surely helping a kid avoid a life on the streets or in the foster care system is important than a team's win-loss record.

It has been suggested that Buldini should have allowed the school and foster care system to address the student's precarious living situation. But children who have been through the foster care system are known to have a higher risk of becoming homeless later in life. Some 40 percent of children who have gone through foster care will experience homelessness before age 24. Foster care children also have lower rates of employment and higher rates of incarceration.

Anyway, rising numbers of children are finding themselves homeless. According to a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, more than one million children experience homelessness in any given year, a number that is expected to more than double this year as the foreclosure rate continues to rise.

Yes, the FHSAA rules may be well-intentioned. But it is unconscionable to fine a well-meaning coach whose only fault was giving a homeless student a steady place to live. Being homeless is hard enough for teens. FHSAA need not make it any harder.

Photo credit: L.E. MacDonald

Jennifer Cooper is a writer, activist and defender of the underdog. She is currently walking across the U.S. and writing a book about poverty and homelessness. She blogs at justabumpintheroad.org.
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