The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor SpeedwayFort Worth, Texas.[1] It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Salado, Texas.[2][3] Founded in 1978, TAPPS governs athletic, fine arts, and academic contests for the majority of non-public high schools in Texas.[a]
As of 2021, TAPPS organizes competitions for over 230 private schools in Texas.[4]
History
TAPPS was chartered in 1978 with a membership of 20 schools. As of 2022, TAPPS lists their school membership at 230 with a combined enrollment of over 40,000 students.[5] As early as 2013, TAPPS was using a proprietary software called TAPPSter to provide schools with online management tools for athletics and fine arts departments.[6] In 2019, TAPPS signed a State Management contract with Rank One to serve schedules and game results to schools in their membership.[7]
In 2004, Darul Arqam, a Muslim school in Houston, submitted an application to join TAPPS. Khaled Katbi, who represented the school, had a meeting with TAPPS on November 4, 2004, and did not report any unusual questions. However the school subsequently received a letter which included a questionnaire with "Why do you wish to join an organization whose membership is basically in total disagreement with your religious beliefs?" and "Why do you think that the current member schools of TAPPS will not be biased against your school, based on the fundamental difference in your religion and Christianity, since about 90% of TAPPS schools embrace Christianity?" In response the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas stated that TAPPS should be investigated.[8]
In 2010, Iman Academy Southwest, another Muslim school in Houston, submitted an application to join TAPPS. TAPPS responded by asking Iman to complete a questionnaire with questions like "Historically, there is nothing in the Koran that fully embraces Christianity or Judaism in the way a Christian and/or a Jew understands his religion. Why, then, are you interested in joining an association whose basic beliefs your religion condemns?" Iman Academy SW did not fill out the questionnaire and the attached application, and TAPPS denied Iman SW admission into the league. Iman SW did not appeal the decision.[4]
In 2012, TAPPS came under harsh criticism after it refused to reschedule a semifinals basketball game scheduled for 9 p.m. on Friday March 2 despite the fact that Robert M. Beren Academy, an Orthodox Jewish school, asked that its players not play on Jewish Sabbath.[9] The school had won the regional championship to advance for their first trip to the semi-finals.[10] An appeal was made by Beren Academy but denied by TAPPS under its bylaws set in the 1970s. TAPPS received legal pressure and pressure from Mayor Annise Parker of Houston as well as hundreds of letters.[9] TAPPS eventually relented and allowed the game to be rescheduled under this pressure.[4][11]
The controversies with the Muslim schools and Beren drew attention to the point where the Texas Catholic Conference called for a review of the association.[12]
Sports officials
In 2015, the TAPPS Winter Division 1 Soccer State Championship Game was stopped by Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) coaches and Athletic Director to protest a yellow card that was issued by the referee to a John Paul II player. The TCA AD left the field of play and met with the TAPPS Executive Director. They walked back to the JPII bench together and the TAPPS Executive Director issued an Administrative Red card to the player, overruling the referee in charge of the game. This violated TAPPS section 134 "NO PROTESTS. A protest base on a game or contest official's decision will not be considered" and TAPPS section 27 "...may not protest a contest judge's / referee's or other official's decision". The cause of the controversy was that after scoring a goal to go up 1-0 with 32 minutes left in the game the player removed his jersey on the way to the bench and was issued a yellow card for this unsportsmanlike behavior. JPII was forced to play 10 v 11 for the remainder of the game and lost 1-2.[13][14]
Groupings
Like the UIL, TAPPS aligns member schools into districts by geography and enrollment size for various contests. Each contest has a slightly different alignment based on the participating schools, but most follow the same basic framework. The districts are mostly decided behind closed doors by TAPPS every even year (in February, around the same time as the UIL's biannual redistricting), and are an attempt to keep schools within a certain distance of their hometown when attending competitions. Like the UIL, the districts are the first progression to the state championship.
Schools are further broken down with a letter classification to separate them from other schools of varying sizes. The purpose is ensured that schools compete only with others with similar size talent pools and resources.
Due to the wide variety of sports that some schools do and do not offer, and because some schools are single-sex, TAPPS uses several different classifications for sports (generally the larger the number the larger the school):
Football: Divisions I/II and III for six-man football (in I/II the schools are grouped together into districts, but in the playoffs they have separate brackets); Divisions I, II, III/IV (in III/IV the schools are grouped together into districts, but in the playoffs they have separate brackets), plus League (divided into two zones) for the 11-man game
^Texas, unlike most states, has separate organizations for public and private schools (excluding two very large all-male parochial schools which have been allowed to join the University Interscholastic League, the governing body for public schools. However, public and private schools may schedule each other in competition.
^ abcdefghSchool moved down one classification level for circumstantial reasons. This is mostly done for schools serving low-income students and for special education schools.
References
^"About TAPPS". Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Retrieved October 25, 2019. Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools 3575 Lone Star Circle #320 Fort Worth, Texas 76177
^ abPilon, Mary. "Texas Association Criticized for Ruling on Jewish Team." New York Times. The New York Times Company, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
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