A House committee has advanced a bill that would give high school student athletes the right to participate in both school-sponsored teams and non-school teams in the same sport at the same time, despite concerns that such a policy could create friction between coaches and jeopardize students’ safety.
House Bill 3037 would create the “Right to Play Act” in Illinois and override existing rules of the Illinois High School Association, which sets eligibility rules for student athletes and strictly regulates their ability to participate in non-school programs.
Those rules generally prohibit students who participate on a school team from also participating on a non-school team in the same sport during the high school sport’s season.
Illinois High School Association Executive Director Craig Anderson said students may participate in as many as three outside contests or tournaments during the season, but only if those events are sanctioned by the sport’s national governing body and the student receives permission from both their school and Illinois High School Association…