Illinois High School Association Member Schools Passes Nine Amendment Proposals

The Illinois High School Association approved nine amendments to its by-laws during its annual referendum on Dec. 16. Of the 806 member schools, 562 voted for a 69.7 percent turnout, significantly lower than the 89.2 percent turnout last year.

The most significant amendment among the nine is proposal number 17, which modifies summer contact days from 25 to 20. Three hundred seventeen (317) schools approved the change, outnumbering the 227 schools that disagreed.

Meanwhile, 350 Illinois high schools agreed to amend the IHSA travel policy. In the old policy, teams could miss up to two school days twice a season. The revised policy allows four consecutive days of missing school for official athletic activities.

IHSA member schools also introduced additional penalties for unlicensed officials, which passed via a 450-92-17 (yes-no-no opinion) vote. However, schools wouldn’t incur penalties for first-time offenses.

Likewise, IHSA members passed proposal 25, modifying the suspension guidelines for ejected football players due to unsportsmanlike conduct. In a 385-116-59 vote, ejected players are ineligible to play for the remainder of the quarter plus the next four quarters at that level.

Based on the IHSA website, the other approved amendments that will go into effect 30 days after voting are as follows:

Proposal 4 – “Allows the IHSA Executive Director to appoint Associate Directors to make eligibility rulings. It also allows the IHSA Board of Directors to appoint a committee of three Board members to review eligibility appeals.”

Proposal 16 – “Modifies the All-Star limitation by-law to be in place during the school year only.”

Proposal 20 – “Adds specific penalties for a school that violates the season limitation in any sport. Penalties include coaches being suspended for the entirety of the State Series. Forfeiture of host guarantee and probation.”

Proposal 24 – “Increase the number of regular season contests in competitive cheerleading and competitive dance from 6 to 8 dates.” Proposal 26 – “Change most references in the constitution and by-laws of ‘principal’ and ‘administrator,’ to ‘Official Representative.’