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BOGALUSA - For a little over four decades, high school athletes have been kept to a standard that was deemed reasonable and acceptable.

Now that standard is being questioned and it is something which will affect almost everyone.

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Currently, student-athletes have to maintain a 1.5 grade point average, but if State Representative Rickey Hardy has his way, the GPA standard will be raised to 2.0.

If House Bill 128 is passed, all private and public high school athletes will be required to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to be eligible to play sports.

"All I'm doing is raising it up half a point," Hardy, of Dist. 44 in Lafayette, said.

He is proposing the legislature raise the GPA for students who play in extracurricular activities.

"We have to change the image of the state. We have to make a drastic change now. I don't think the children cannot meet the challenge," Hardy said. "The price of gas went up and we met that challenge as adults. I've been an advocate of raising the GPA."

House Bill 128 states for students that it establishes minimum academic eligibility requirements for participation by certain students in interscholastic athletics and other extracurricular activities.

"A 1.5 is a low D, and we want to prepare children for college, and if they maintain a 1.5, they will not be able to go to college," Hardy said.

The state representative said he is receiving overwhelming support that the bill will be passed.

It is currently assigned to House Education, and Hardy said if it is passed, it will be implemented in the 2009-2010 school year. Rep. Harold Ritchie of Bogalusa (Democrat) said he is unsure of where he presently stands.

"I know we all want higher standards for students to achieve. Athletics and other extra-curricular activities add to the school experience and help to keep students involved and attending school," Ritchie said.

He is waiting for testimony from the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to help determine his stance on the issue.

"I don't know why anyone hasn't proposed this so far. It's not going to happen overnight, but it can happen," Hardy said.

Editor's note: This is part one in a three-part series