(The Center Square) – Student-athletes could be granted waivers for non-school athletic events with a measure approved by the Illinois House.
State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, sponsored House Bill 3037. She said the measure came to her from student-athletes in her district and around the state.
Yang Rohr noted that it advanced unanimously out of committee.
“Members just inherently recognized the absurdity it is that our Illinois students are bound by rules that have resulted in, for example, an autistic cross-country runner being disqualified from his cross-country season for participating in a 20-minute charity run on behalf of his hospitalized sister,” Yang Rohr said Wednesday on the House floor.
The Naperville Democrat said she heard from countless students and student-athletes who support the bill, which would create the Right to Play Act.
Yang Rohr said principals and athletic directors would be free to not use the waivers.
The Illinois High School Association and the Illinois Principals Association both registered their opposition to the measure. Yang Rohr said she worked on the amendment with principals, athletic directors and coaches who said the IPA did not speak on their behalf or consult with them before the associations registered their opposition.
Yang Rohr said the IHSA indicated to her that the amended bill was an improvement over the original.
“I will also say that, on principle, they have told me that they do not believe that Springfield belongs in their business,” Yang Rohr said.
State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, said it was incredibly brave for Yang Rohr to bring the bill forward.
“I feel for you because it’s obvious that the IHSA has done nothing but put pressure on you to amend this bill, and to your statement, which I think is incredibly telling, that Springfield has no authority and should stay out of IHSA business, is amazing to me,” McLaughlin said. “The ISHA should frankly do what they were originally intended to do and that was to be fair with all student-athletes.”
McLaughlin said the IHSA should “stay in its lane.”
House members voted 68-39 in favor of the bill, with two representatives voting present. HB 3037 had both bipartisan sponsorship and opposition.
Even if the bill becomes law, Yang Rohr said Illinois would remain one of the 10 strictest states for these types of regulations.
