Public Act 098-0166
 
SB2178 EnrolledLRB098 09554 NHT 39698 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
22-15 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/22-15)  (from Ch. 122, par. 22-15)
    Sec. 22-15. Insurance on athletes.
    (a) In this Section, "IHSA" means the Illinois High School
Association.
    (b) A public school district maintaining grades 9 through
12 shall provide catastrophic accident insurance coverage,
with aggregate benefit limits of $3 million or 5 years,
whichever occurs first, for eligible students in grades 9
through 12 who sustain an accidental injury while participating
in school-sponsored or school-supervised interscholastic
athletic events sanctioned by the IHSA (including direct and
uninterrupted travel to and from the athletic event as well as
during a temporary stay at the location of an athletic event
held away from the student's school) that results in medical
expenses in excess of $50,000. These benefit limits are to be
in excess of any and all other insurance, coverage or benefit,
in whatever form or designation. Any public school that
requires students participating in school-sponsored or
school-supervised interscholastic athletic events sanctioned
by the IHSA (including direct and uninterrupted travel to and
from the athletic event as well as during a temporary stay at
the location of an athletic event held away from the student's
school) to be covered under an individual or group policy of
accident and health insurance is exempt from the requirements
of this Section.
    Non-public schools maintaining grades 9 through 12 shall
provide catastrophic accident insurance coverage, with
aggregate benefit limits of $3 million or 5 years, whichever
occurs first, for eligible students in grades 9 through 12 who
sustain an accidental injury while participating in
school-sponsored or school-supervised interscholastic athletic
tournaments sanctioned by the IHSA (including direct and
uninterrupted travel to and from the athletic tournament as
well as during a temporary stay at the location of an athletic
tournament held away from the student's school) that results in
medical expenses in excess of $50,000. These benefit limits are
to be in excess of any and all other insurance, coverage or
benefit, in whatever form or designation. Any non-public school
that requires students participating in school-sponsored or
school-supervised interscholastic athletic events sanctioned
by the IHSA (including direct and uninterrupted travel to and
from the athletic event as well as during a temporary stay at
the location of an athletic event held away from the student's
school) to be covered under an individual or group policy of
accident and health insurance is exempt from the requirements
of this Section.
    (c) The IHSA has the exclusive authority to promulgate a
plan of coverage necessary to ensure compliance with this
Section. The IHSA shall provide a group policy providing the
coverage necessary to comply with this Section. Public school
districts and non-public schools may purchase the coverage
necessary to comply with this Section by participating in the
group policy.
    Alternatively, public school districts or non-public
schools that do not participate in the group policy may obtain
the coverage necessary to comply with this Section from other
coverage providers, but must submit to the IHSA, 60 days before
the coverage inception, a certificate of insurance from the
coverage provider stating that the insurance provided by the
coverage provider is in compliance with the plan of coverage
approved by the IHSA. A public school district that manages
schools located within a city of over 500,000 inhabitants may
provide the catastrophic accident insurance coverage required
by this Section through a program of self-insurance, and the
public school district must submit to the IHSA, 60 days before
coverage inception, proof that the program is in compliance
with the plan of coverage.
    (d) A public school district maintaining grades
kindergarten through 8 may The school board of any school
district may, in its discretion, provide medical or hospital
service, or both, through accident and health insurance on a
group or individual basis, or through non-profit hospital
service corporations or medical service plan corporations or
both, for pupils of the district in grades kindergarten through
8 injured while participating in any athletic activity under
the jurisdiction of or sponsored or controlled by the district
or the authorities of any school thereof. The cost of such
insurance or of subscriptions to such non-profit corporations,
when paid from the funds of the district, shall, to the extent
such moneys are sufficient, be paid from moneys derived from
athletic activities. To the extent that moneys derived from
athletic activities are insufficient, such cost may be paid
from the educational fund of the district. Such insurance may
be purchased from or such subscriptions may be taken in only
such companies or corporations as are authorized to do business
in Illinois.
(Source: P.A. 77-1554.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2013.