SCHOOL MASCOT BILL 4/14/25 Illinois
K-12 schools may soon be required to pick new mascots to replace those that reference
Native American names and imagery. That would include logos, team names
and mascots which 90 schools throughout the state use, according to
legislators. House
Bill 1237 passed in the House on Thursday with a vote of 71-40. The bill
points out specific mascots and names like “Redskins, Braves, Chiefs,
Chieftains, Tribe, Indians, or any synonymous term” as those being banned.
It also applies to logos with Native American feathered headdresses or
traditionally Native American weapons, especially if combined with feathers. If
signed into law, schools would have to have a new mascot chosen by July 1,
2026. Other big changes that would cost schools money, have a slightly
longer delay. Instead
of requiring schools to buy new athletic uniforms and other school materials
with new iconography as soon as the bill passes, schools could keep using those
old materials until September 1st, 2030, as long as the new names
and logo designs have been picked out. There
is also an exception for any school whose mascot has a direct tie with a
federally recognized tribe and the school gets permission from that tribe to
continue using the mascot. That consent would have to be renewed every
five years, according to the bill. Advocates
said they wanted to focus on K-12 schools because they can choose not to be
fans of professional sports teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, but they can’t
choose not to send their children to school. This bill also does not
apply to universities. The
bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.