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Entry Policy and Procedures, continued
8. These policies and procedures regarding entries for all IHSA sports and activities shall be followed by all IHSA office personnel, without exception.
30. IHSA Affirmative Action Policy for Girls on Boys State Series Teams
29. Prayer at IHSA State Series Contests
Prayer at an IHSA state series contest that takes place over the public address system is prohibited.
I. Rationale
This Affirmative Action Policy addresses the issue of girls participating on boys’ teams and boys participating on girls’ teams during the IHSA state series. The overall philosophy is that schools should provide separate but comparable athletic opportunities for each sex. There are circumstances however, when an opportunity to compete at a school is not provided a girl or a boy. This policy protects the existing participation opportunities for the underrepresented gender (girls) and also allows that gender additional participation opportunities when they are not provided to them at their school.
The position of the Association is that a girl may participate on a boys’ teams but a boy may not participate on a girls’ teams. The foundation for this rationale is that by allowing a boy to compete on a girls’ team, he most likely would replace a girl on that team thus taking away another opportunity. This situation not only adds to the difference in participation opportunities but also hurts the growth of the girls program.
IHSA is not the enforcement agency. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) monitors the Federal law and the Illinois Sex Equity Rules that require school districts to offer athletic programs that accommodate the interest and abilities of both sexes to a comparable degree. It is their agency that the IHSA member schools must work through in regards to compliance. Therefore, procedures established in this policy are in keeping with the ISBE’s role.
II. Policy for a Girl Entering an IHSA Boys Tournament Series.
This policy applies only to the IHSA state series. During the regular season, schools and conferences will have local control. When a school wants to enter a girl in an IHSA boys state series tournament, the following policy applies.
A member school may enter a girl in the IHSA boys athletic state tournament series when:
1. The only team in the sport offered at the school is a boys’ team;
2. The girl(s) has participated on that particular boys team during the regular season and;
3. The member school has secured a “Letter of Verification” from the Illinois State Board of Education indicating that the school is in compliance with the Illinois Sex Equity Rules.
III. Process
A school must request a letter of verification from the ISBE in order for a girl to participate on a boys team in the IHSA State Series.
To obtain a letter of verification from ISBE, the official school representative must complete a 3-step process. The ISBE is the controlling agency for this process, therefore the request forms are accessed through the ISBE website. A school can access their link through the equity center at www.ihsa.org .
The self-assessment is good for one reporting school year. If your school has NOT completed the assessment within that time, then the following process must be followed.
1. Complete Form B, Step 1of the” Request for a Girl to Participate on a Boys Team”;
2. Complete Form B Step 2 of the “Request for a Girl to Participate on a Boys Team”; this form includes the actual self-assessment
criteria.
3. Complete the Form B step 3 of the “Request for a Girl to Participate on a Boys Team”.
4. Send all forms to the ISBE.
5. The ISBE will act on your request and subsequently they will acknowledge your schools compliance status with the Illinois Sex
Equity Rules (23 Illinois Administrative Code 200) Section 200.80 Extracurricular Program and Activities. This letter will make
eligible the girl for participation in the IHSA state series on the boy’s team. 6. A copy of that letter will also be sent to the IHSA by the ISBE.
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