IHSA Announcements

June 1, 2005

IHSA Schools Approve Changes to Recruiting By-Law

By a vote of 285 to 95, Illinois High School Association (IHSA) member schools approved a special-session by-law amendment proposal that provides more clarity to the existing recruiting rules. The amendment also endorses a long-time tradition of private schools allowing a faculty member's children to attend the school where the faculty member teaches without paying tuition. The online ballots were tabulated and certified in the IHSA Office Wednesday (June 1). The proposal takes effect July 1, 2005.

The complete text of the proposal is found below.

Proposal No. 1

2004-05 Special Session

Amend By-laws 3.070, 3.071, 3.072 and 3.073 – Recruiting of Athletes

Submitted by Joe Schlender, Principal, Hoffman Estates (Conant) on behalf of the IHSA Board of Directors

By-law 3.071 currently reads:

3.071 Recruitment of students or attempted recruitment of students for athletic purposes is prohibited, regardless of their residence.

By-law 3.072 currently reads:

3.072 It shall be a violation of this rule for any student athlete to receive or be offered any remunerations of any kind or to receive or be offered any special inducement of any kind which is not made available to all applicants who enroll in the school or apply to the school.

Special inducement shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Offer or acceptance of money or other valuable consideration such as free or reduced tuition during the regular year or summer school by anyone connected with the school.

(2) Offer or acceptance of room, board or clothing or financial allotment for clothing.

(3) Offer or acceptance of pay for work that is not performed or that is in excess of the amount regularly paid for such service.

(4) Offer or acceptance of free transportation by any school connected person.

(5) Offer or acceptance of a residence with any school connected person.

(6) Offer or acceptance of any privilege not afforded to non-athletes.

(7) Offer or acceptance of free or reduced rent for parents.

(8) Offer or acceptance of payment of moving expenses of parents or assistance with the moving of parents.

(9) Offer or acceptance of employment of parent(s) in order to entice the family to move to a certain community if someone connected with the school makes the offer.

(10) Offer or acceptance of help in securing a college athletic scholarship.

By-law 3.073 currently reads:

3.073 It shall also be a violation of this rule to induce or attempt to induce or encourage any prospective student to attend any member school for the purpose of participating in athletics even when special remuneration or inducement is not given.

No member school and no one acting on behalf of any member school shall give any speech or give any slide, film or tape presentation or distribute any written material which states or implies that a member school's athletic program is better than the athletic program of any other member school or that it would be more advantageous for any prospective student-athlete to participate in athletics at that member school as opposed to any other school.

In the enforcement of this rule, member schools shall be responsible for any violation committed by any person associated with the school, including principals, assistant principals, coaches, teachers, any other staff members or students, or any organization having any connection to the school. The member schools shall be responsible for any violation committed by any person acting at the direction of the school.

This rule is not intended to prevent a member school from conducting academic recruitment programs or recruitment programs designed to attract students based upon the school's overall educational and extracurricular programs. However, such recruitment programs must be designed to present the overall educational and extracurricular programs of the school and not be used as a subterfuge for recruiting students for athletic purposes. Such general recruitment programs permissible under this rule shall be carried out under the following guidelines:

(a) With the permission of the principal, member schools may present speeches, slides, film, tape or other similar programs to students at elementary, junior high, or middle schools with grades below the ninth from which the member school can normally expect enrollment.

(b) Member schools may present speeches, slides, film, tape or other similar programs to students at elementary, junior high, or middle schools with grades below the ninth from which the member school can normally expect enrollment so long as said speeches, slides, film, tape or other presentations are designed to attract students to attend the member school and are based upon the overall educational programs and not presented solely for the purpose of recruiting prospective athletes. Any mention of athletics in said speeches, films, slides, tapes or other such presentations or in any written material handed out at such presentations shall be limited to listing the various interscholastic sports in which that school participates and to a description of the athletic facilities available at said school. No information shall be distributed through such programs by the use of speech, tape recordings, films, slides, or written material which in any way implies that the member school's athletic program is better than any other member school's athletic program or that it would be more advantageous for a prospective student athlete if he/she participated at that member school as opposed to any other member school.

(c) Member schools may conduct open house, but information distributed at said open houses or in advertisements for said open houses concerning the school's athletic program shall be limited to a listing of the sports in which that school participates in interscholastic athletics and to a description of that school's athletic facilities. No information distributed at a school's open house through any speech, written material, film, slide, photograph or other material shall imply that the school's athletic program is better than any other school's athletic program or that it will be advantageous for a prospective student athlete if he/she participates in athletics at that school as opposed to some other school.

Revise By-law 3.070 to read:

In the enforcement of the rule, member schools shall be responsible for any violation committed by any person associated with the school, including principals, assistant principals, coaches, teachers, any other staff members or students, or any organization having any connection to the school.

Revise By-law 3.071 to read:

3.071 Recruitment of students or attempted recruitment of students for athletic purposes is prohibited, regardless of their residence.

Special inducement shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Offer or acceptance of money or other valuable consideration such as free or reduced tuition during the regular year or summer school by anyone connected with the school. (exception – private schools may waive tuition for children of faculty members, as a benefit of employment, provided there is no undue influence exerted upon the student or the family to attend the school. )

(2) Offer or acceptance of room, board or clothing or financial allotment for clothing.

(3) Offer or acceptance of pay for work that is not performed or that is in excess of the amount regularly paid for such service.

(4) Offer or acceptance of free transportation by any school connected person.

(5) Offer or acceptance of a residence with any school connected person.

(6) Offer or acceptance of any privilege not afforded to non-athletes.

(7) Offer or acceptance of free or reduced rent for parents.

(8) Offer or acceptance of payment of moving expenses of parents or assistance with the moving of parents.

(9) Offer or acceptance of employment of parent(s) in order to entice the family to move to a certain community if someone connected with the school makes the offer.

(10) Offer or acceptance of help in securing a college athletic scholarship.

Revise By-law 3.073 to read:

Schools are not prohibited from conducting academic recruitment programs, programs which may include information concerning the school's extracurricular offerings. However, such recruitment programs must be designed to provide an overview of the academic and extracurricular programs offered by a school and are not to be used as a subterfuge for recruiting students for athletic purposes. Such general recruitment programs permissible under this rule shall be carried out under the following guidelines:

* With the exception of an open house conducted at a member school, no member of a school's coaching staff may present or distribute the school's information to students not yet in high school unless the students are incoming freshmen that have completed the initial enrollment process for the school.

* Any information presented or distributed shall be limited to the academic and extracurricular offerings provided by the school. The information may include a description of the athletic facilities available at the school.

* Any information presented or distributed shall not imply, in any manner, that the member school's athletic program is better or more accomplished than any other member school's athletic program.

* Any information presented or distributed shall not imply, in any manner, that it would be more advantageous for a prospective student athlete to attend a member school over any other school because of its extracurricular programs.

* Information may be presented or distributed only at an open house conducted at a member school or at a school housing grades below the ninth from which the member school can normally expect enrollment.

Rationale of Submitter

These changes are made to provide more clarity to the recruiting rule and to reflect a long time tradition of private schools allowing a faculty member's children to attend the school where the faculty member teaches without paying tuition.