Who gets to decide girls' sports rules?

A new bill in Illinois wants to give the state more say over high school sports rules. The main fight is over flag football for girls. Earlier, the group that runs high school sports in Illinois made a change. They shortened the regular season by one week and added more time between playoff games ending October 17. But some lawmakers don’t like that the decision was made quietly by a small group without much input. State Representative Janet Yang Rohr is pushing a bill that would require the IHSA to get state approval before making changes that hurt girls’ sports. Families, students, and schools would get 30 days to share their thoughts. The bill also wants the IHSA to do an equity review and explain their decisions to the Illinois State Board of Education.Other lawmakers, like Kam Buckner and Camille Lilly, support the bill. Lilly says girls flag football is growing fast in Illinois. She believes young women deserve more chances, not fewer. Her bill, HB 5799, tries to make sure decisions about girls’ sports involve the public and follow clear rules. The IHSA responded with a statement. They said they talked to lawmakers about the change. They also said they haven’t spoken directly to Yang Rohr about her bill. The IHSA explained that the change didn’t shorten the overall season. They invited lawmakers to meet and discuss their concerns instead of making new laws. Yang Rohr disagrees. She says not enough people were involved in the decision. She wants to work with coaches, parents, and schools to fix any problems. She also worries about the message the IHSA’s response might send. She doesn’t want anyone to think schools should avoid starting new flag football programs because of the rules.