Bartlett High girls basketball team forced to forfeit wins for season

The Illinois High School Association has ruled that Bartlett High School must forfeit all of its varsity girls basketball wins from the 2008-09 season, saying that one of its star players was ineligible to play for Bartlett.

IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman made his initial ruling on March 6, and the IHSA board of directors sustained part of that ruling Tuesday at its monthly meeting in Bloomington.

However, the board left open the possibility that the student, freshman Ashley Santos, could be eligible to play for Bartlett her sophomore year.

Santos, along with her younger sister, has been staying with family friends in Bartlett this school year even though her parents live in Elgin. The family's attorney, Scott Larson, says that is because their parents could be called to leave the country quickly, and for a long time, on account of an elderly family member in poor health.

Santos was one of the stars of the varsity girls team, which finished with a 17-11 record. She is an All-Area player and expected to be a sought-after Division I college prospect.

Hickman said Wednesday he ruled against the school because the friends taking care of the Santos girls were not court-appointed guardians.

The state legislature allows a student to change schools and live with people who are not their parents without getting the court to officially appoint a guardian. In June 2008, the legislature extended the length of a short-term guardianship without a court order from 60 days to 365 days.

But the IHSA's rules are much more stringent for kids playing competitive sports.

"There's a difference between the school code and the IHSA regulations," Hickman said. "The school felt she met entry standards per the school code, but she didn't meet our standards."

Larson, however, argues the family did nothing wrong and neither Ashley Santos nor her team should be penalized.

Larson said that in August 2008, the Santos parents dutifully filled out a U-46 form indicating they were transferring short-term guardianship of their girls to the Bartlett family. (The younger daughter attends middle school in Bartlett.)

The issue first arose with the IHSA in late November or early December, at which time the Santoses submitted another copy of the guardianship form to the school district, Larson said.

"What the communication between Bartlett High School and the IHSA at that time was we don't know," said Larson, who represented the Santoses at the IHSA board meeting Tuesday. "However, no one told the Santos their paperwork did not meet IHSA requirements."

Hickman, however, contends that Bartlett High School should have been aware that the IHSA requires court-ordered guardianship for students to play IHSA sports.

"I think this was an oversight and a mistake on the school's part in evaluating our residency requirements," he said.

"The player didn't comply with our residency rules, which state student-athletes must live with their parents, a custodial parent, or a court-appointed guardian," Hickman said.

"In this case, the player did not live with a court-appointed guardian. As an incoming freshman, you can live with a guardian, but our standards are that it must be a court-appointed guardian."

Bartlett Principal Kevin Skinkis did not comment Wednesday other than to say, via e-mail, "We are disappointed in the ruling, but we will abide by it."

However, the IHSA board on Tuesday modified Hickman's original ruling that Santos could not play for the team in the 2009-10 season, either.

Instead, it instructed Hickman to review Santos' eligibility status for the 2009-10 year once Bartlett High School and the Santos family work out the details to make the Bartlett family the girls' court-appointed guardians.

"I think the IHSA board realized that the parents and the daughter were not at fault here and therefore backed off making her ineligible for next year," Larson said.

Hickman, meanwhile, said he's waiting for the high school.

"The board said that once the residency issue is clarified, they've instructed me to review the ruling again," Hickman said. "As of now the ball is in (Bartlett's) court to clarify the situation."

Forfeit: IHSA will review girl's status for next season

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