The random testing for anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances will apply to students competing in "IHSA state series." Examples of those include regionals, sectionals and state championships, said ISHA executive director Marty Hickman.

The ISHA's board of directors approved the proposal unanimously at its monthly meeting in Bloomington, Hickman said.

Final details — such as penalties for students who test positive, selection of a lab and the exact scope of the testing program — will be discussed next month.

Currently, New Jersey and Florida are the only states to conduct mandatory, random steroid tests of high school athletes. And in Texas, the state Commissioner of Education has approved the rules for its upcoming high school steroids testing program, leaving the announcement of a contractor as the last major step toward the start of a program.

All three of those testing programs were mandated by state lawmakers; Illinois is the first to plan random testing without a legislative mandate.

"We've studied this now for a couple years and discussed with our membership," Hickman said. "We felt it was the type of issue that needed some action, and from our perspective, we didn't need a legislative mandate to move forward."

The IHSA conducted a survey of more than 750 member schools and found strong support from principals for a testing program, Hickman said. But he said he believes student-athletes will welcome the testing as well.

"There's so much pressure on kids to be bigger, stronger, faster .... and unfortunately the pressure gets to some kids and they sometimes look for a shortcut, and this will be one reason for kids to say no," he said.

Hickman said the testing — while not comprehensive or foolproof — will also help high school athletes feel they compete on a level playing field, as well as demonstrate that the IHSA is concerned "for their health and safety."

While penalties for students who test positive have not yet been decided, Hickman said he believes they will be individual sanctions, as opposed to penalizing a whole team.

The IHSA uses the same list of banned performance-enhancing substances as the NCAA does, but anabolic steroids would be a focus of testing, Hickman said.

Testing could be more common in sports like football, wrestling and track and field, Hickman said, "but we'll certainly not limit it to those sports."