This is the original proposal that was agreed upon between Castleberry and Timmons and then rejected by the TASO Board.
Proposed TASO – Football AGREEMENT with the UIL
1. After becoming an approved member of TASO, all TASO-Football members wishing to officiate UIL football games will then register their status as a TASO-Football official active member with the UIL. The UIL will not charge any registration or membership fee. However, the UIL may require payment for its costs associated with certain specific expense items relating to particular costs such as background check, etc. The UIL will not charge any such fee without first notifying the TASO-Football board. The UIL will give an explanation of charges if fees are assessed.
2. Social security numbers will not be required by the UIL as part of the registration process.
3. The UIL will not provide the list of the names of registered officials to any third party vendors or other outside parties unless legally required to do so.
4. TASO-Football and the UIL will work in conjunction with each other to develop an official “Football Chapter Application” to be filled out by chapters whose members wish to officiate UIL-sanctioned contests. Such application will not require payment of any costs or fees and the privacy issues relating to individual member registration will also apply to the Chapter Application. The UIL agrees to accept all currently recognized TASO-Football chapters.
5. The UIL will require that any official who works a UIL-sanctioned football game must be an active member of an approved local TASO-football chapter and the TASO state organization. The UIL will not seek to register non-TASO members as football officials.
6. TASO will operate as an independent trade association and all members of TASO-Football are not employees of TASO. Further, TASO-Football members registered with the UIL will not be considered or treated as employees of the UIL. All members of TASO-Football will accept assignments from a designated TASO-Football assigning authority as independent contractors. As independent contractors, the UIL may not mandate a particular uniform or tool of trade not approved by TASO-Football, or otherwise seek to in any way treat TASO-Football members as employees or violate their status as independent contractors. TASO-Football will change its uniform requirements to allow UIL commemorative caps to be worn during State Championship games (if provided) and will require them to be worn.
7. Neither the UIL nor TASO-Football will create or approve any new football chapters unless there is sufficient evidence that the current chapters in the area in question are not adequately covering the school districts with which they have agreements. If it is determined that a new chapter is needed, that chapter must apply and be approved by both TASO-football and the UIL.
8. The UIL agrees that it will not in the future seek to affiliate a non-TASO football chapter with the UIL as long as TASO-Football complies with the agreement finalized between TASO-Football and the UIL. If the UIL believes that TASO-Football is in breach of the final agreement, the UIL will be required to give specific written notice of any alleged breach and will provide TASO-Football with an adequate opportunity to cure. Any disagreements regarding such breach or cure will be submitted to a neutral arbitrator for resolution.
9. TASO-Football along with the UIL and its member schools agree to fully follow the compensation schedule provided for in Section 1204 of the UIL Constitution.
10. The UIL will continue to use NCAA football rules, including UIL exceptions, for all games.
11. The UIL Legislative Counsel and its member schools have the sole authority to set the contest rules for the games in which they participate.
12. The TASO-Football board of directors will be restructured so that every approved chapter will have a voting representative on the TASO-Football board. The UIL Director of Officials will continue to be an Ex-Officio (non-voting) member of the TASO-Football Board of Directors and there will be up to three (3) TASO-Football members on the UIL football board. Those non-voting members will be the TASO-Football president and two other TASO-Football members appointed by the UIL Director of Officials.
13. TASO-Football will continue to hold its individual members and chapters accountable for their actions. When a UIL member school files a complaint and it is determined a violation has occurred, TASO-Football will inform the UIL of the disciplinary action imposed on the individual(s) and/or chapter(s) with the understanding that the specifics of the discipline will be held in confidence and no UIL member school will know the details of any action that was taken. The UIL will not be notified when a member or chapter is disciplined for a violation not concerning the UIL or one of its members. However, in such instances, TASO-Football may notify the UIL if needed. TASO-Football may also notify the UIL of disciplinary actions taken against TASO-Football member(s) and chapter(s) for incidents involving UIL member schools when no official complaint was filed. The Disciplinary process and procedures implemented by TASO-Football will be the only disciplinary process that TASO-Football members will be required to submit to. However, the UIL may revoke the UIL registration of a TASO-Football member for a violation of registration or a provision of Section 1204. Furthermore, when a UIL member school files a complaint with the UIL, such complaint shall also be sent to the TASO office. In addition, the UIL will support any disciplinary action taken by TASO-Football against a member or chapter as long as the member or chapter was given due process and appeal, pursuant to the TASO By-Laws.
14. TASO-Football members will file UIL incident reports in a timely manner on the UIL website. A copy of the incident report will automatically go to the proper UIL and TASO-Football designees.
15. TASO-Football may purchase rulebooks from the UIL at the UIL’s cost plus a nominal fee for processing, shipping and handling. TASO-Football will notify the UIL as to the number of rulebooks it will need on or before March 15 and is responsible for accepting and paying for all rulebooks ordered.
16. TASO-Football will continue to be the sole provider of rules and mechanics training and testing materials for its members. The UIL will have access to member test results in a pass/fail format.
17. To avoid any future litigation between the parties, both parties agree that a process for dispute resolution will be created that provides for a process to resolve any future disagreements or misunderstandings and that will provide for an arbitration process to resolve any future problems.
18. This document contains the basic terms of the agreement between the UIL and TASO-Football. These terms will be incorporated into a formal written agreement that will be signed and approved by TASO-Football board and the UIL Executive Director. The formal agreement will be prepared and implemented in such a way that it will be binding and enforceable. Both TASO-Football and the UIL will take whatever action is required to amend their bylaws or Constitution and Contest Rules (if so required) to accommodate the effectuation of this agreement. This agreement will not be considered final until such formal agreement has been executed by both TASO and the UIL.
19. Upon final execution of the formal agreement – the parties will file a joint stipulated agreement with the court to advise the court that by agreement of the parties, TASO-Football officials will no longer be subject to the injunction currently in place.
