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UIL Rule Changes Approved by Commissioner of Education

Media Contact: Chris Schmidt
Phone: 512-471-5883
Email:

Date: Apr 04, 2011
Category: General Information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, TX— Amendments to current UIL rules passed by the Legislative Council of the University Interscholastic League have been approved by Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.  The Commissioner’s approval allows the rule changes and amendments to the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules to take effect immediately, and for the 2011-12 school year, depending upon the nature of the amendment.

The amendment to alter the UIL Concussion Management Protocol approved by the UIL Legislative Council in October was given final approval by Commissioner Scott on March 25. As part of the measure, UIL member schools will be required to follow the regulations for concussion management currently in place from the National Federation of State High School Associations. The amended concussion management protocol will take effect August 1, 2011.

Under the new guidelines, no student-athlete that sustains a concussion will be allowed to return to play on the same day. Current guidelines stipulate that a student-athlete who sustains a concussion could return to play on the same day if the student was symptom free after 15 minutes of evaluation and testing. Return to play decisions will be made by a licensed health care professional, and only after written clearance will follow a stepwise progression back to full participation. Any subsequent concussion sustained by a student-athlete will require further medical evaluation by a licensed health care professional.

These guidelines, along with additional information on concussions, will also be included on the UIL website and in the 2011-12 UIL Parent Information Manual and other UIL publications.

Among the changes approved by Commissioner Scott was establishing an initial set of contest rules to conduct a Chess Puzzle Solving pilot event in grades 2-8. The pilot status will be used to determine interest level and feasibility for implementation of Chess Puzzle Solving as an official UIL event. The rules regarding the Chess Puzzle pilot take effect immediately.

Commissioner Scott’s approval also allowed the following rule changes passed by the UIL Legislative Council in October to take effect during the 2011-12 school year:

  • Allowing interschool football scrimmages to be scheduled after six days of contact practices instead of seven;
  • Allowing critiques when using panel judging in One-Act Play;
  • Allowing all players to participate in the team playoff in golf;
  • Adding a verification period for all journalism contests;
  • Allowing three games to be substituted in place of a tournament in baseball and softball.

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