This past August, Governor Pat Quinn signed “Rocky’s Law”, requiring school districts to provide Catastrophic Accident Insurance for injured student athletes. The law, taking effect on January 1 2014, will demand that a school’s minimum policy will cover $3 million in aggregate benefits or 5 years of coverage (expand more, what does this mean). This coverage is in addition to any other insurance.

   Rocky’s Law  is named after Rasul “Rocky” Clark. Clark, who played football for Eisenhower High School, was paralyzed from the neck down after being tackled during a game in 2000. The policy Clark had for insurance, paid by Eisenhower High School, only covered up to $5 million or 10 years, but the policy ended in August 2010. With the policy ending, Clark’s quality of medical care declined.

After Clark’s death in January 2012, the push for the law was revamped. In an interview with NBC-Chicago, Gov. Pat Quinn stated: “Rocky Clark was a fighter, and this new law is a tribute to him and all the years he fought to protect young athletes across our state.”

The new law will also provide accident and health care insurance coverage for students injured during school-sponsored athletic activities during Kindergarten through 8th grade.

As far as District 128 and the status of the law pertaining to LHS, the district is already prepared.

“Community High School District #128 already had this type of insurance coverage in place. This new law probably affects schools in a lower income/tax-base district that didn’t have this insurance,” stated Athletic Director Briant Kelly.