IHSA Announcements

November 18, 1996

Legislative Commission Places Three Proposals on Ballot

BLOOMINGTON — The Legislative Commission of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Monday voted to place three (3) proposals to change the IHSA Constitution and/or by-laws on the annual referendum ballot.

A package proposal generated by the Task Force on Public/Private School Issues to change IHSA regulations regarding residence, transfer, financial aid and penalties for undue influence was one of the three proposals placed on this year's ballot. Another would incorporate the existing Strike Policy into the by-laws, while the third would expand the scheduling options for boys and girls basketball teams.

Ballots containing the proposals which the Commission voted Monday to submit to the full membership on this year's regular ballot will be mailed to the principal/official representative of the 745 schools on Friday, Nov. 22. Each member school has one vote. A simple majority of votes cast on a proposal will pass or defeat it. Schools have until Dec. 13, 1996, to return marked ballots to the IHSA Office.

Following is a capsule breakdown of the three proposals on the 1996 ballot:

No. 1 — Proposals of Task Force on Public/Private School Issues

Financial Assistance — Constitution 1.250 and By-laws 3.084, 3.085 and 3.086.

Delete By-laws 3.084, 3.085 and 3.086 which require annual reporting of financial assistance by private member schools.

Amend Section 1.250 of the Constitution by requiring private schools to adhere to the following specified standards for granting financial assistance as a condition of membership in the IHSA:

use an IHSA approved financial need assessment plan in allocating assistance
require the president/principal of the private school to approve all financial aid allocated
require IHSA approval of criteria for granting financial aid on a non-need basis

Residence — Section 3.030 of the By-laws and its sub-sections.

To be eligible, students must live full time with their parents, custodial parent or court appointed legal guardian(s).

Students at public schools may be eligible if they:

attend in the district where they live with their parent(s) or guardian(s), OR
attend where they have gone at least 7th and 8th grades as tuition paying non-resident, OR
are ruled eligible by the Executive Director

Students at private schools may be eligible if they:

attend in the public school district where they live with their parent(s) or guardian(s); OR
have attended private schools for the last two years before high school OR any 4 of the grades from K-8; OR
attend the private school their parent(s) or parent's current spouse attended; OR
attend a private school located within a 30-mile radius of where they live with their parent(s) or guardian(s);
are ruled eligible by the Executive Director

Students at public schools without boundaries may be eligible if they:

attend is in the public school district where they live with their parent(s) or guardian(s); OR
have attended non-boundaried public schools for the last two years before high school OR any four of the grades from K-8; OR
attend the non-boundaried public school their parent(s) or current spouse of their parent(s) attended; OR
attend a non-boundaried public school located within a 30-mile radius of where they live with their parent(s) or guardian(s); OR
are ruled eligible by the Executive Director

Residential students at public or private schools may be eligible if they enter high school in the 9th grade as full time resident students at a member high school.

Transfer — Section 3.040 of the By-laws and its sub-sections.

When a student transfers, the principals of both schools involved must approve the transfer, using a form to be provided by the IHSA Office.

A student who transfers after classes begin for the school year, while or after participating in a sport will be ineligible the rest of the year in that sport
A student who transfers after classes begin for the school year but who has not or is not participating in a sport, will be ineligible for thirty days.

In addition, a student who transfers will be ineligible, unless:

The student and parent(s)/guardian(s) move to a different public school district, OR
The student and parent(s)/guardian(s) move to a different attendance area within a multiple-school public school district, OR
The student transfers from a private to the home public school, it is the student's first time in public high school and the private school principal approves the transfer, OR
The student transfers from one private to another private school within a 30-mile radius of the family's residence; the student is changing schools for the first time, and both private school principals approve the transfer, OR
The student is from divorced or legally separated parents and the transfer is in conjunction with a change in custody by court action and a copy of the custody order is on file with the principal.

Note: Approval in the provisions above is intended to confirm that there is no evidence of recruiting and no violation or avoidance of any rule.

All other cases of students who are orphans, have a deceased parent, have divorced or legally separated parents, are wards of the state or court, or have changes in legal guardianship by court action, must be ruled upon by the Executive Director.

Penalty for Recruiting Violation — By-law 6.010

Students whose high school attendance is found to have been affected by undue influence to secure or retain the student at a member school shall be permanently ineligible at that school.

No. 2 — Participation in Contests During a Strike

The current "strike policy" is adopted as part of the by-laws.
Schools are not penalized financially for breach of contract for contests they are not allowed to play due to a strike.

No. 3 — Basketball Participation Limitations

Provides the option for basketball teams to participate in 16 games and 3 tournaments, exclusive of the state series.
Permits any student to participate in 3 basketball tournaments exclusive of the state series.