LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MINUTES May 30, 2018 Conference Call

  1. Call to Order and Roll Call
  2. Heard Update on Unified Sports
  3. Approved Unified Sports Bylaws Definitions Unified Sports - Inclusive programs which pair an approximately equal number of unified athletes and unified partners on teams for training and competition. Special Olympics Athlete – For the purposes of Unified Sports, an athlete is a participant, approved by Special Olympics, with intellectual disabilities. Unified Partner – For the purposes of Unified Sports, a partner is a participant without intellectual disabilities who is not a member of the school team in that particular sport. Eligibility Preamble The member high schools of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association have adopted, through their elected representatives, an essential inter-related group of minimum eligibility requirements which establish the threshold for participation for all students within the interscholastic program and which work together to define and preserve the fundamental nature of the program. At the junior varsity or B-Team level, the only eligibility rules that apply are those in Sections 1 (Enrollment), 2 through 4 (Academic Rules), 5 (High School Graduate), 6 (Eight-Semester Rule), 7 (Repeating Rule), 8 (Eighth Grade Participation), 9 (Age Limit), 10 (Physical Examination and Parental Consent), 13e (Coaching Link), and 25 (Home School Rule). At the varsity level, all eligibility rules apply. Special Olympics Athletes must be enrolled at the school for which they are participating. They must meet all requirements set forth by Special Olympics of Tennessee. Physical Examination and Parental Consent (Section 10) It is required that no student be permitted to participate in practice sessions or in athletic contests until there is on file with the principal a preparticipation medical evaluation form signed by a doctor of medicine, osteopathic physician, physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner stating that the student has passed a physical examination, not prior to April 15, and that in their opinion the student is physically fit to participate in interscholastic athletics. A Special Olympics Athlete must utilize the Special Olympics of Tennessee Clearance Form for this preparticipation medical evaluation. In lieu of the form, the principal may accept a signed statement from the health care provider certifying that the student has passed a physical examination that encompasses all elements on the preparticipation medical evaluation form, or Special Olympics Tennessee form if it is a Special Olympics Athlete, and attesting that in their opinion the student is physically fit to participate in interscholastic athletics.
  4. TSSAA Sports Calendar Voted to add Track & Field/Unified Track & Field to the TSSAA Sports Calendar
  5. Voted to Sanction Unified Track & Field