The Illinois High School Association was invited to a “hearing” conducted by the Elementary & Secondary Education Committee of the Illinois House on Oct 2 but decided not to attend, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Despite the association’s official absence, some individuals testified to lawmakers that the IHSA has “turned its back” on student-athletes who had sustained life-altering injuries in the course of participation in athletic contests sponsored by the IHSA. The IHSA hasn’t responded to these accusations yet.
“We have become immersed in the plight of injured Illinois student athletes,” the Tribune quoted Don Grossnickle, co-founder of the Gridiron Alliance and Community Alliance for Sport Safety, as saying. “We demand that the state legislators be given respect and authority to act on the behalf of the taxpayers.”
What he means is, one purpose of the hearings is to explore the possibility of having the IHSA come under the Illinois State Board of Education, which answers to the General Assembly. In some states, such as Maryland, the public school athletic associations are run from inside the state’s education department. However, Illinois isn’t like that, and we are aware of no call in Illinois to make it so.
The brouhaha started over an alleged plagiarism incident at the IHSA’s Scholastic Bowl competition in 2013. Briefly, the contest, sponsored by the IHSA, used plagiarized questions. When someone pointed out the plagiarism, the IHSA fired the person who reported it and rehired the editors who approved those plagiarized questions, an obvious cover-up plot. This action on the part of an association representing our schools is not acceptable, and the misconduct opened a door into an association that receives public money from public schools.
Once the door was opened, people started coming from left and right to criticize and to support the IHSA’s operations. Which brings us to today.
The appropriate punishment for academic dishonesty, however, should not be a complete overhaul of the IHSA governance structure. Lawmakers have the right to inspect organizations to which our schools send money and to demand a proper resolution to any scandal they confirm, in order to maintain at least an appearance of academic honesty. But putting the IHSA inside ISBE will, I think, add to the problems by creating additional bureaucratic layers.
At this point, the IHSA and its supporters are putting on a strong offense. More than 700 of them have voiced their disapproval with the hearings on the General Assembly’s website, and about 25 pages of testimony in support of the association have been submitted. It’s time to get this train back on the track, and by that, I mean the trains coming from both directions.
“This is a blatant example of political shenanigans at its finest,” state Rep Barbara Wheeler, Republican of Crystal Lake, wrote on her website.
IHSA executive director Marty Hickman wrote on theirs: “We believe that a hearing of this nature should be about open conversation and honest dialogue with the affected stakeholders. We believe that can and will occur, and remain open to it, whether it occurs in a hearing, or some other setting. We plan to review the hearing early next week and will respond if warranted.”
How do you think Mr Hickman should respond to the charges being made against the IHSA? See Common Core English language arts writing standard W.11-12.8 for more information.