‘Right to Play’ bill that would affect high school athletes advances in
House
[March 13, 2025]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD – A House committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would
give high school student athletes the right to participate in both
school-sponsored teams and nonschool 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 nonschool programs.
Those rules generally prohibit students who participate on a school team
from also participating on a nonschool team in the same sport during the
high school sport’s season.
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in an interview that
currently 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 IHSA.
Rep. Janet Yang-Rohr, D-Naperville, the lead sponsor of the bill, told
the committee that the rules have resulted in students being
disqualified from competition over seemingly minor infractions.
“We have cross country runners who are running a charity race during the
cross country season. IHSA found out and disqualified that runner for
the rest of the season,” she told the House Education Policy Committee.
“We have members of a high school pom squad in Will County. Members of
that pom squad went to a dance competition, and IHSA found out and
disqualified those dancers for the rest of the season.”
Libby Magnone, a junior at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein told
law makers that during her first two years of high school she was
prohibited under IHSA rules from playing soccer at her school because
she also played in the Girls Academy League, a program that sponsors
tournaments that are eyed closely by college recruiters.
“The best soccer players across the state have to choose between having
to forgo showcasing their talents to college coaches that recruit from
these tournaments, or sitting out their high school season,” she said.
“Issues like these disproportionately affect girls and young women
because unlike football or basketball, college coaches and scouts rarely
go to high school events.”
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Rep. Janet Yang-Rohr, left, and Carmel Catholic High School student
Libby Magnone testify before a House committee on legislation that
would let high school student athletes compete on both
school-sponsored and nonschool teams in the same sport during the
same season. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
But Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, who serves on the committee, said
the rules restricting participation on multiple programs exist for
several reasons, including protecting the health and safety of student
athletes.
“If there’s a kid in a concussion protocol, if there was an event that
happened, maybe in a soccer game with one team or the other, I don’t
know that that coach has to communicate with the other coach to make
sure that the kid is rested,” she said. “And so I just have issues with
that overlap.”
Stuart said the policy change could also create friction between
coaches, and put the students and their families in awkward positions,
if both teams have games or activities scheduled on the same day.
“They’re in a spot,” she said. “Their high school coach says, ‘If you
don’t go to practice, you’re not playing the next 10 games,’ or whatever
the typical thing is. And then you have a traveling coach who says,
‘Well, if you don’t show up for our practice, then you’re not playing.’
And then the kid has to choose. ‘Which one do I not have an opportunity
in?’ I think you’re going to have a lot of issues with that.”
The bill passed out of the Education Policy Committee on a 12-0 vote,
with Stuart voting “present.” The measure will go next to the full House
for consideration.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation.
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