The Illinois High School Association’s Legislative Commission voted Monday (Nov. 27) to advance 14 proposals to amend the IHSA Constitution and By-laws to a vote of the general membership. The Commission voted after hearing feedback from member school personnel at 28 town meetings held virtually and in-person around the state during the month of November.

The ballot containing the proposals will be available to each member school’s official representative in the IHSA’s online Schools Center, beginning Monday, December 4.  The deadline to submit the ballot is midnight, Monday, December 18.  The ballots are expected to be tabulated, and the results posted on Tuesday, December 19.  Schools may vote in favor, against, or no opinion on each proposal.  A simple majority of yes or no votes cast will determine whether each proposal passes. Proposals that receive the simple majority vote from the IHSA membership will go into effect on July 1, unless another date is noted within the proposal. All language from the original 23 proposals can be found here.

Here is a summary of the proposals on the ballot:

• Proposal 4: Allows coaches to conduct out of season strength and conditioning workouts with limits of no more than 4 days per week and no more than 90 minutes per session outside the season.  No coaching of the skills of a sport during any session.
   
• Proposal 5: Allows students to meet the residence by-law when their parent/guardian is a full-time staff member at a public school whose attendance boundary they do not reside in if the district has a Board Policy permitting students of employees to attend tuition free.
   
• Proposal 9: Modifies the All-Star games participation limit to include all sports as opposed to just basketball, football, soccer and volleyball.
   
• Proposal: 11: Modifies the number of summer contact days restriction from 25 to 18 days.
   
• Proposal 12:  Allows coaches to conduct strength and conditioning workouts with limits of no more than 4 days per week and no more than 90 minutes per session during the summer contact days. Conditioning training does not count against the summer contact day count. No coaching of the skills of a sport during any session in order for the session not to count as a summer contact day.
   
• Proposal 14: Restricts a Pre-Contest Physical Examination from determining a student’s eligibility for a contest other than in sports that require weigh-ins or sports-specific nail or skin checks.
   
• Proposal 15: Modifies the participation under an assumed name to match the language passed two years ago in By-law 3.090.
   
• Proposal 16: Eliminates the IHSA Tournament Limitations By-law (5.004).
   
• Proposal 17: Creates the opportunity for football teams to conduct a pre-season scrimmage with another school. Specific scrimmage limitations include the following: Use of IHSA Officials, 4 separate 12 play segments, no special teams, 48 total play limits per player, no live contact or thud in practice the day before or after the scrimmage. Scrimmage to be held on Friday or Saturday of IHSA Week 7. Players are eligible to participate in the scrimmage after participating in 8 different days of practice.
   
• Proposal 18: Establishes districts in the sport of football to be determined by the IHSA using geography and classification. Eight districts in each class with eight schools in each district. District games in weeks 3 – 9 of the regular season.  Top 4 schools in each district qualify for the IHSA Play-offs. Seeding procedures will be similar to current seeding procedures with teams from the same district not to play in the first round.
   
• Proposal 19: Eliminates the Boys Gymnastics season and contest limitation by-law.
   
• Proposal 20: Eliminate the match limit per tournament language in girls and boys volleyball.
   
• Proposal 22: Increase the number of girls’ wrestling team contests from 18 to 25.
   
• Proposal 23: Establishes a Girls Flag Football fall season limitation (Monday of Wk. 6 to Saturday of Wk. 21), a pre-season practice requirement of 9 practices before a contest and a regular season contests limitation of 25 games exclusive of the IHSA State Series.