IHSA Announcements

November 23, 2009

Legislative Commission Votes to Place 8 of 15 Proposals on Annual Referendum Ballot

Eight of the 15 proposals submitted to change the Illinois High School Association Constitution and By-laws were placed on the annual referendum ballot by the Legislative Commission at its second meeting Monday (Nov. 23) in the IHSA Office. Thirty-two of the 35 commissioners attended Monday's meeting.

Following are the proposals on the 2009 IHSA annual referendum: Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 14. The others were rejected by the Legislative Commission after hearing feedback from member schools at the November town meetings. (The text of the proposals as amended is available in a PDF document.)

The ballot containing the proposals will be available online to IHSA member schools in the IHSA Schools Center on Tuesday, Nov. 24. The deadline to submit the online ballot is midnight, Wednesday, Dec. 23. The ballots will be tabulated and the results posted on Thursday, Jan. 7. A simple majority of votes cast on each proposal will determine whether it passes.

Here is a summary of the proposals on the ballot:

• Proposal 1 provides that a non-boundaried public school’s actual enrollment, rather than the school’s multiplied enrollment, be used to determine eligibility for a coop. The multiplier would still be used to determined the classification of the coop.
• Proposal 2 allows the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired to participate with other schools for the blind, even if those schools are not members of their state high school association, provided those schools are governed by the North Central Association of Schools for the Blind.
• Proposal 3 allows multiple-school activities sponsored by organizations such as the Illinois Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student Organizations or the Illinois Association of Student Councils to begin as early as 8:00 am on a school day.
• Proposal 5 provides that, for a student in a multiple high school district to be eligible with regard to residence at a boundaried public school, the student must live in the attendance area of the school he or she attends.
• Proposal 7 provides that when the Illinois State Board of Education has granted a tuition waiver to a student attending the school where his or her parent teaches, the student shall be eligible with regard to residence.
• Proposal 8 provides for a process by which a non-boundaried school may apply to have the 1.65 enrollment multiplier waived. Such a process would be established by the IHSA Board of Directors with input from a subcommittee comprised of members of IHSA staff and the IHSA Legislative Commission.
• Proposal 9 removes the prohibition on participation in boys and girls basketball tournaments held during the week of IHSA Boys or Girls Basketball Regional Tournaments.
• Proposal 14 establishes a season limitation for Competitive Dance that is identical to the season limitation already in place for Competitive Cheer.