The Florida High School Athletic Association on Wednesday backed off schedule cuts designed to help districts cope in the sour economy, saying they did not want to pass along the costs of a legal challenge to member schools. The group's board of directors voted 15-0 to rescind amendments to the policy that cut the number of varsity games by 20 percent and all other play by 40 percent through the 2010-11 school year. Football was spared from the sweeping game reductions, an exemption that led to a lawsuit from a group of parents.

The parents sued in federal court in June, alleging the schedule
changes unfairly hurt female student athletes. The suit claims the changes violated Title IX, the federal law that requires schools offer equal athletic opportunities to men and women. The FHSAA, the state's governing body for high school athletics, counts 748 schools as members, according to its Web site. Because those schools would have paid for the lawsuit, board members felt it was best to abandon the policy.