UIL Legislative Council Meeting Results

Date: Oct 16, 2006
Category: Legislative Council

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, TX- Every UIL member high school will be required to have at least one Automated External Defibrillator (AED) on campus by August 1, 2007 due to a decision handed down by the Legislative Council of the University Interscholastic League on Monday.

The proposal was presented to the UIL Legislative Council Standing Committee on Athletics as a recommendation from the UIL Medical Advisory Committee. After being discussed at length, the full Legislative Council, with 23 of its 28 members present, voted unanimously to approve the measure requiring all UIL member high schools to have one AED on campus beginning in the 2007-08 school year.

The amendment, which states that “each high school campus shall have at least one AED available on the premises”, also contains language requiring each high school campus to “develop a plan for implementation, coordination and maintenance of their AED program.”

“We're pleased that the Legislative Council approved this measure on AEDs to further protect the health and safety of our students,” said UIL Assistant Director and Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Breithaupt. “Since its inception in September of 2001, the UIL Medical Advisory Committee has encouraged our member schools to have at least AED on hand and this new rule change takes that one step further in requiring just that. We are proud to be one of only a hand full of states that have state-wide AED requirements, and know that when implemented and maintained properly, AEDs save lives.”

In other action, the Legislative Council of the UIL passed an amendment to the current UIL Constitution and Contest rules that would alter the limitations on the junior high football season. Under current rules, the junior high season must be completed by the district certification date for high school football. The newly approved measure would allow for more flexibility in scheduling the season due to the change in school start date. The new language would allow a school to have 80 consecutive calendar days to practice outside the school day, and complete all scrimmages and games in 63 of the 80 days.

Additionally, the UIL Legislative Council voted to pass the following items to take effect August 1, 2007 if approved by the Commissioner of Education:
ο Altering the scrimmage limitation for football;
ο Prohibiting the use of electronic equipment in golf;
ο Changing the soccer red card penalty point system;
ο Removing the single elimination bracket format as an option in determining the district championship in cross-examination and Lincoln-Douglas debate;
ο Allowing the UIL Waiver Officer to rule on retroactive waivers.

Members of the UIL Legislative Council were also given the opportunity to have their respective school districts participate in a pilot program of the STAR Sportsmanship Program from Learning Through Sports. The STAR Sportsmanship program is a role-playing program for students, coaches and parents that promotes making good decisions on and off the playing field and includes steroid abuse education.

The Legislative Council also instructed the UIL staff to study requiring helmets in pole vault competitions and sanctioning wheelchair track.

  

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