Here's what the League has to say, from the SCHSL Constitution, page A-28:
POLICIES GOVERNING CONTESTS WITH NON-PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS
Non-public high schools are either members or non-members insofar as the League's rules and
regulations are concerned. The non-public schools that are members of the League must abide by all
rules and regulations of the League. The non-member schools must follow only minimum requirements
in order to compete with member schools.
LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP - A non-public high school may become a member of the League if such
school is accredited by the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges and the principal
of the school agrees to conform to all rules and regulations of the League.
Before being considered as a member of the League, the non-public school must clearly define its
attendance area as one of the following: (1) the attendance area of the public school in whose
attendance area the school is located, (2) the school district in which the school is located, and (3) the
county in which the school is located.
Now, defining your attendance area as an entire district or county isn't quite the same as having it restricted to a single-school attendance area in most cases...but it is considered legal by the League. So, a private school can RECRUIT from a multiple-4A attendance zone, but as long as they only ACCEPT 2A numbers, that's where they compete.
Hm. Why would anyone consider that an unequal advantage?
