Bill 100.

Summary.

The bill proposes a Program for the Promotion and Development of Student-Athletes to identify and support Panamanian students with athletic talent and help them obtain athletic scholarships at foreign universities. Its objectives include identifying talent nationwide, preparing students for admissions and English examinations, supporting entry into the Olympic cycle, involving sports academies and individual-sport athletes, and encouraging students to return to Panama after university. It defines terms including sports academy, student-athlete, limited financial means, academic and athletic assessments, and Comprehensive Development Grant. For satisfactory academic performance, it refers to Executive Decree 810 of October 11, 2010.

The Panamanian Sports Institute (PANDEPORTES) would establish the program, giving priority to students with limited financial means. Its components cover recruitment, monitoring, university applications, applications for scholarships from the Institute for Human Resources Training and Development (IFARHU), and support for participation in the Olympic cycle. The program has three phases: recruitment and application, academic and athletic monitoring, and applications to foreign universities beginning in twelfth grade. Students between 13 and 16 years old could apply; admitted students would receive ongoing monitoring and a monthly payment. Participation could continue until university studies are completed, subject to annual renewal and verification.

The Technical Board of the Program for the Promotion and Development of Student-Athletes would select beneficiaries, giving preference to those with limited financial means. It would include technical representatives of PANDEPORTES and the Panama Olympic Committee (Comité Olímpico de Panamá), together with an IFARHU adviser. It would assess athletic and academic performance, socioeconomic circumstances, development potential, and recommendations, and would approve the participation of academies. Decisions would require a simple majority; the Board would meet monthly and keep records of its decisions. PANDEPORTES would competitively select a technical coordinator to administer the program and review documents, and a finance manager to manage payments. IFARHU would create a university adviser position; the Panama Olympic Committee would support athletic assessments and entry into the Olympic cycle.

Recruitment would include applications by athletes in individual or team sports, registered academies, nationwide recruitment by the Panama Olympic Committee, and PANDEPORTES events. Academies would have to be registered in the public registry, hold a current operating notice, and register with the Technical Board. To enter and remain in the program, student-athletes would have to meet athletic criteria for their sport and age, maintain a minimum grade of 3.0 in each subject, observe the disciplinary and attendance rules cited in the decree, demonstrate English proficiency through an annual assessment, and show athletic progress. They would submit an annual plan covering sporting activities, academic preparation, and use of funds for Board approval.

PANDEPORTES would award the Comprehensive Development Grant monthly, ranging from 200 to 700 dollars, for athletic and academic expenses. The amount would reflect financial circumstances, location, performance, justified costs, access to facilities, and specific needs. Beneficiaries would substantiate its use each month with documents reviewed by the finance manager. The Technical Board could arrange academic and transport support. The bill lists eligible sports, excludes relatives and associates of specified senior political officeholders within the stated degrees of kinship, and makes beneficiary data public from the first selection phase. It also provides for loss of student-athlete status for failure to meet requirements, implementing regulations by the Executive Branch, and commencement on the day following promulgation in the Official Gazette.

The proposal concerns PANDEPORTES, IFARHU, the Panama Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), MiBus, and the Panama Metro (Metro de Panamá), as well as students and families, sports academies, coaches, foreign universities, and the public transport sector.