Bill Text: DE SJR3 | 2021-2022 | 151st General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: Suspending The Requirement That Student Athletes Wear Face Coverings While Participating In Non-high-risk Interscholastic Sports Outdoors In Order To Establish Parity In Face Covering Requirements For Youth And Amateur Sports And For Interscholastic Sports.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-27 - Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in Senate [SJR3 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2021-SJR3-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:	Sen. Lopez & Rep. Bush
Sen. Poore; Rep. Michael Smith

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3

SUSPENDING THE REQUIREMENT THAT STUDENT ATHLETES WEAR FACE COVERINGS WHILE PARTICIPATING IN NON-HIGH-RISK INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS OUTDOORS IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH PARITY IN FACE COVERING REQUIREMENTS FOR YOUTH AND AMATEUR SPORTS AND FOR INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS.

WHEREAS, a State of Emergency continues to exist in the State of Delaware due to the public health threat posed by the novel COVID-19 virus; and

WHEREAS, on November 13, 2020, the Delaware State Board of Education approved Regulation 1011 of Title 14 of the Delaware Administrative Code, promulgated by the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Board of Directors; and

WHEREAS, Regulation 1011 regulates interscholastic athletics during the COVID-19 pandemic and implements a phased return to play framework and sports-specific guidance to protect the physical well-being of student athletes and promote healthy adolescent lifestyles; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly and Governor express their sincere appreciation to the members of the DIAA Board of Directors for their hard work on behalf of Delaware’s student athletes and families, as the thoughtful return to play guidance reflected in Regulation 1011 has allowed participants in every interscholastic sport the opportunity to have a sports season during the 2020-2021 school year; and

WHEREAS, all active COVID-19 restrictions issued as part of the State of Emergency Declaration and subsequent modifications have been combined into a single order as part of the Twenty-Seventh Modification to the State of Emergency Order (the “Omnibus Modification”); and

WHEREAS, on April 1, 2021, Governor Carney issued the ninth revision to the Omnibus Modification, which eased COVID-19 restrictions on youth sports and amateur adult sports by allowing athletes participating in non-high-risk sports outdoors to remove face coverings when actively engaged in practice or game play while on the field; and

WHEREAS, according to the Governor’s ninth revision to the Omnibus Modification, the Division of Public Health supported the easing of restrictions on youth and recreational sports; and

WHEREAS, the Omnibus Modification does not apply to interscholastic sports; and

WHEREAS, the DIAA Board of Directors held two meetings, one on April 8, 2021 and the other on April 19, 2021, to consider amending Regulation 1011 to conform to the Governor’s Omnibus Modification, but did not pass a proposed regulation, in part due to procedural concerns about the regulatory process; and

WHEREAS, due to regulatory and procedural steps required to amend Regulation 1011, the 2020-2021 interscholastic sports season will likely end before the DIAA Board of Directors can amend the sport specific guidance in the regulation to mirror the provisions in the Omnibus Modification; and

WHEREAS, it is desired that there be parity between the Governor’s restrictions on face coverings for youth and amateur sports and the face covering restrictions imposed on interscholastic sports.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 151 ^st General Assembly of the State of Delaware, with the approval of the Governor, that the following provisions in Regulation 1011 of Title 14 of the Delaware Administrative Code are hereby suspended, for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, to the extent the provisions mandate that student athletes wear face coverings outdoors when actively engaged in practice or game play while on the field:

(a) 5.6.1.1.1 (Baseball) .

(b) 5.6.1.4.1 (Field Hockey).

(c) 5.6.1.9.1 (Girls’ Lacrosse).

(d) 5.6.1.10.1 (Soccer).

(e) 5.6.1.11.1 (Softball).

(f) 5.6.1.13.1 (Tennis).

(g) 5.6.1.14.1 (Track and Field).

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon this resolution going into effect, an authenticated copy of this Joint Resolution must be forwarded to the Executive Director of the DIAA, who shall be responsible for its dissemination to all DIAA Member Schools.

SYNOPSIS

This Joint Resolution suspends the requirement that student athletes participating in non-high risk sports outdoors wear masks while actively engaged in practice or game play while on the field for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. This establishes parity between the Governor's face covering restrictions for youth and amateur sports and the face covering restrictions for interscholastic sports. Finally, this Joint Resolution requires that an authenticated copy of the resolution be forwarded, upon the resolution going into effect, to the Executive Director of the DIAA, who shall be responsible for its dissemination to all DIAA Member Schools.

Author: Senator Lopez