Full Text of HR0895 98th General Assembly
HR0895 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Thousands of young students participate in high | 3 | | school athletic and academic
competitions in Illinois each | 4 | | school year; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, High school athletic and academic contests are an | 6 | | integral part of all communities
across Illinois, both small | 7 | | and large; and
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 6 | | membership in the IHSA for schools; and
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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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