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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Thousands of young students participate in high | ||||||
3 | school athletic and academic
competitions in Illinois each | ||||||
4 | school year; and
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5 | WHEREAS, High school athletic and academic contests are an | ||||||
6 | integral part of all communities
across Illinois, both small | ||||||
7 | and large; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Public high school athletic and academic programs | ||||||
9 | belong to the taxpayers who fund
their local school districts | ||||||
10 | across Illinois; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, The health and safety of those students and | ||||||
12 | student athletes is of paramount importance;
and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, School districts incur substantial costs to | ||||||
14 | enable students and student athletes to have
broad athletic and | ||||||
15 | academic opportunities; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, The State Board of Education provides general | ||||||
17 | oversight to school districts throughout
Illinois; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The Illinois High School Athletic Association | ||||||
19 | (IHSA) provides oversight and
administrative assistance to |
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1 | school athletic programs and other extra-curricular programs; | ||||||
2 | and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, The IHSA regulates, or has attempted to regulate, | ||||||
4 | access to high school athletic and
academic events, including | ||||||
5 | access by members of local community media organizations; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, The IHSA has entered into exclusive contracts with | ||||||
7 | vendors and suppliers to identify
particular types of balls, | ||||||
8 | bats, and other athletic equipment and clothing that are | ||||||
9 | required to be
used by IHSA members, in return for monetary | ||||||
10 | compensation to the IHSA; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, The IHSA and other state athletic associations | ||||||
12 | have discussed a national venture to
control access to and | ||||||
13 | distribution of video and other media coverage of publicly | ||||||
14 | funded high
school athletic and academic competitions; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, The IHSA has refused to make public exclusive | ||||||
16 | contracts with vendors and suppliers of
"the official state | ||||||
17 | basketball" and similar contracts, including the income to IHSA | ||||||
18 | from such
sponsorships; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Illinois high schools should be aware of the funds | ||||||
20 | generated by these contracts
between the IHSA and vendors and | ||||||
21 | suppliers, as well as the revenues generated by the athletic
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1 | and academic contests in which Illinois's student athletes | ||||||
2 | participate; and
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3 | WHEREAS, With few exceptions, IHSA members may compete only | ||||||
4 | with other IHSA members in athletic
and academic contests (IHSA | ||||||
5 | Constitution Section 2.050) resulting in virtual mandatory
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6 | membership in the IHSA for schools; and
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7 | WHEREAS, The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh | ||||||
8 | Circuit's final holding in the case of
Wisconsin | ||||||
9 | Interscholastic Athletic Association, and American, Inc. v. | ||||||
10 | Gannett Co., Inc., and
Wisconsin Newspaper Association.658 | ||||||
11 | F.3d 614, is contrary to the public policy of the State of
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12 | Illinois, and it is incumbent upon this General Assembly to | ||||||
13 | enact legislation to properly re-state
the policy of the State; | ||||||
14 | therefore, be it
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15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
16 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
17 | the House Committee on
Elementary and Secondary Education be | ||||||
18 | encouraged to hold subject matter hearings on the
issues | ||||||
19 | presented by this Resolution, the administration and funding of | ||||||
20 | high school sports, the
safety of high school athletes, the | ||||||
21 | systems and protocols of the IHSA, the costs and income
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22 | associated with the administration of high school sports | ||||||
23 | (including any trademarks or copyrights
claimed by the IHSA) |
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1 | and the feasibility of statutorily transferring the duties and | ||||||
2 | functions of
the IHSA to the Illinois State Board of Education; | ||||||
3 | the committee is further asked to examine
the issues of | ||||||
4 | transparency and accountability in relation to high school | ||||||
5 | athletic and academic
programs in Illinois; the Committee is | ||||||
6 | encouraged to make recommendations to the full House
of | ||||||
7 | Representatives on these issues.
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