Homeschoolers playing on public school teams seems to be a hot topic. In this report from Wyoming, a rule change will mean that homeschooled kids will need shots for public school sports participation.

Gillette News Record, Gillette, Wyoming, 13 April 2007, Kids taught at home may need proof of vaccines

Under Wyoming law, children attending public or private schools have to provide documentary proof of immunization unless they receive a waiver from the state or county health officer based on religious objection or medical recommendations.

Home-schooled students haven’t had to meet those requirements if they’re involved in public school athletics. But that would change in 2008-09 under the proposal brought before activities directors throughout northeast Wyoming at a meeting in Gillette on Thursday.

That proposal, if passed, will require school districts to keep track of not only physical exam results, but also of immunizations for students involved in sports. All public school students have to meet that requirement already.

With more public school participation, come more rules addressing homeschoolers.

posted by Valerie

Dateline Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, 12 April 2007, Panel mulls letting home-schoolers play sports in public schoolsThe Senate Education Committee heard public comments Wednesday on a bill that would allow home-schoolers to participate in extracurricular activities like athletics and band at public schools.

…

State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton said the current rules of only allowing full-time public students to participate in extracurricular activities are “very fair.”

“Public school students have a lot of things they have to adhere to like ‘no pass, no play.’ How do you apply that to a home-schooled child who is educated by mom or dad or a tutor?” he said in an interview. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg of 9,999 questions that public schools and coaches and assistant coaches would have. We wouldn’t have to have any questions if the student would just enroll (in public school) full-time.”

You wouldn’t have any questions either, if sports were divorced from schools and opened to all the kids in the community. Are the sports for the kids, or are the sports for the school’s P.R.?

posted by Valerie

Expanded virtual schools sought

By S.V. Dáte

Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

TALLAHASSEE — A House education committee Tuesday approved an expansion of the state’s K-8 virtual school program to allow every home-schooled child in the state to enroll – a scenario that could cost taxpayers more than $300 million.

But Weatherford, a new lawmaker who hopes to be House speaker in six years, said that philosophically he thinks all children, including those being home-schooled without any state assistance, should have the opportunity to participate in the state-paid program that provides parents with a computer, books, software and on-line access to teachers.

<snip>

The following paragraph then makes it perfectly clear that once they enroll they will be under the Florida Public School Standards:

The virtual schools’ curriculum must meet Florida Sunshine State Standards, and students must take the FCAT. The companies that pushed for the original legislation and that hold contracts with the Department of Education are Virginia-based K12, founded by former GOP Education Secretary William Bennett, and Maryland-based Connections Academy.

Along with the standards, participants should be aware that there are also calls for more acountability for these schools as
state says to “Expect Reforms”.

Posted by Mary

WCBD-TV, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, 22 March 2007, Home School and Extracurriculars

Kathy Carper is president of the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools. She says many parents opt to teach their children at home for academic reasons and shouldn’t have to give up sports or other extracurriculars like band.

Why not? Without trying to be a Scrooge, I’m still baffled by the viewpoint that we aren’t responsible for the results of our choices, and the attitude that — despite our choices –whatever someone else has, we ought to have, too.

Compare the above viewpoint with one I saw in the newspaper yesterday about the formation of specialized high schools at Kansas City’s Union Station.

Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, 22 March 2007, Union Station High School? KC district mulls small, specialized centers, including a science focus at the station. (my emphasis)

The district would have to work out issues of costs and staffing. Students in some cases would have to give up some of the extracurricular activities of large schools. But small-school supporters say students would gain unique experiences and college credit in tighter-knit communities with students and teachers who share their interests.

Any choice involves trade-offs. For most people there is a point where the investment of time and money has to be considered. So, in choosing to homeschool, what probably should be considered is whether the investment in the homeschooling process is worth the loss of whatever the alternate choice offers.

Home Education Magazine, November-December 1997, Hanging On To What Makes Homeschooling Distinctive

When we send children to school, even for something as seemingly wholesome as band, we risk having our family getting caught up in the limitations of the school mentality. What is music? For homeschoolers, it’s lullabies, silly songs, friends and neighbors making music for their own enjoyment, informal concerts, maybe formal concerts, and the opportunity to truly develop their musical talent. Why would people want to trade such richness for band uniforms, directors stuck with a limited repertoire (no matter how much they love music), and competition for first chair? Some people may argue that band offers the opportunity to play with a large group of other people. This is important, to be sure. However, if people didn’t send their children to school for music, they would have more incentive to make their own, organize community bands or just get together informally to play whatever they want. In addition, people who take control of their own music are more likely to make music a meaningful part of their whole lives. If conventional schools’ approach to music works, why are there so many children in school bands and so few adults who make music?

posted by Valerie

, 16 March, 2007, Polk approves private, homeschool student policy

If it’s approved, the policy will allow the admission of children who reside in Polk County and enroll in at least two classes at the high school. At least one of the classes must be held at the high school, while the other could be taken on-line.

A student enrolled in at least two classes is considered by the state to be a full-time student and is eligible to participate in all extracurricular activities.

So, it’s already state policy that a school-age resident can enroll in the local school for two classes, and is considered a full-time student? If that is the case, what does the resident’s educational status matter outside the times of class attendance? Aren’t all the school-age residents already eligible to enroll?

I’ve read that … in Maine? … that dual-participation is barred because of in-state rules applying to the various public and private school sports ‘leagues’ (or associations, or however they’re styled). Is that also the case in North Carolina?

posted by Valerie

Savannah Morning News, Savannah, Georgia, 15 March 2007, Senate panel derails home-school bill

A blitz of criticism from parents of home-schooled children helped stall a Senate bill designed to give them access to public school sports, plays and other extracurricular activities.

Wary of opening the door to extra registration and academic tracking requirements in order to participate in public school activities, parents flooded members of the Senate Education and Youth committee with e-mail messages and some showed up Tuesday to speak against the proposal.

posted by Valerie

Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, 21 February 2007, Bill on sports for home-schooled students under debate

ATLANTA – A bill [Senate Bill 85]
that would allow home-schooled children to join public-school sports teams sparked debate Tuesday. Proponents argued that all families pay school taxes, and opponents pointed to a myriad of potential problems that they say the change would bring.

Yes, all families pay taxes, including those adults without children. If that’s the criterion, then I’m out in the cold, as are my grown kids who aren’t parents.

The differences between the two ‘systems’ (if homeschooling can be called a system), are also in conflict.

Athletes could use the new law to circumvent the system, Swearingin said, because it would be difficult to ascertain whether home-schooled children meet the state’s no-pass, no-play grade requirements.

“We have never seen anybody fail home school,” Swearingin said.

And that’s a difference. Homeschooling parents aren’t often in the business of providing failing situations for their kids. We also don’t often pit our kids against each other to provide ‘winning teams’ for the glory of our family.

The tying of publicly-funded sports to school activities is not necessarily a ‘natural’ connection. I’m guessing that it may have something to do with our linguistic connection to England, and their affection for boarding schools. At a boarding school, all activities would be expected, which would probably include sports.

If our schools were indeed linked to the development of schooling in Germany, we probably wouldn’t have the twinning of sports and school. German kids’ sporting teams are all separate from school, as are musical activities. (I haven’t got a clue about schools in France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Liechtenstein, etc.)

Of course, whatever the influence, it’s all water under the bridge. Our system is our system, and that is what people are accustomed to. If alternate systems develop because taxpayers want to provide sport opportunities for their children regardless of where they are being schooled, an entirely different system could develop in which all the children are eligible to participate, not just those who qualify. Some communities already have this system for baseball, softball, tennis, or soccer.

posted by Valerie

The Register Guard, Eugene, Oregon, 20 February 2007, Few oppose bill that would help education center

“We are going to have parents who decide to home-school their kids no matter what – that’s going to happen,” he said. “The next best thing we do is we try to entice them in by providing a program like that that will lead to better educated children that are better socialized in our society than if they didn’t have this program, and use it as a tool to maybe move some of them – not all of them, but some of them – into a public school setting.”

See also:

• Oregon public-funded home ed — is it homeschooling or not?
• Oregon homeschooling 101

posted by Valerie

Daily Herad, Provo, Utah, 20 February 2007, Home-schooled children may soon play on district school sports teams

Students who are educated at home, or who attend private or charter schools, would be eligible to play on sports teams and participate in other extracurricular activities at regular public schools in the districts where they reside under a proposal that passed a final Senate vote Monday.

Apparently the story caught the eye of others because there is discussion at Sean Hannity.

The thing that catches my eye at the original report is:

Households pay taxes for public schools regardless of where their children go to school, he said.

“Parents have paid for the cake, and if they want to eat a little piece of that cake, they should be able to.”

In that case, I, as an empty-nester, want my piece of the cake, too. I bet my tax-paying kids want some cake too.

posted by Valerie

Via HEM-Networking:

Texas Home School Coalition

House Bill 1569

UIL Participation

An act relating to participation in school district services and activities by home-schooled students.

The following were also posted along with the site linked (above).

• Home Education Magazine, May-June 2000, Why the Question of Homeschoolers’ Playing Public School Sports Affects All Homeschoolers
• Home Education Magazine, November-December 1999, Convincing Others We Don’t Want Homeschooling Legislation

posted by Valerie