Homeschooler participation in school activities

A topic of recurring interest for some homeschooling families is participation in extra-curricular school events.  Because Americans tie many activities to school instead of to the community-as-community, opportunities for homeschooled children to participate in some iconic American activities, such as football, can be hard to find.

Recently, the subject of homeschooler-participation in school activities ranged from Dr. Phil on primetime, to state associations.  On Dr. Phil, a couple disagreed about homeschooling, and Dr. Phil advised them that homeschooling is beneficial, but to make sure the child participates in extracurricular activities. In Tennessee, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) made bylaw changes that allow limited participation by homeschoolers in sports governed by the TSSAA.

The situation of homeschooler participation in school sports isn’t simple.  Even though some families concerned say that they should have ‘equal access’ to the activities because they pay taxes, many people pay taxes that support the public schools without any personal benefit from that payment, such as singles, childless couples and retirees.  Also, rules vary so that in one place homeschoolers can particpate, but across a state boundary, or perhaps even a school district line, they may not.  In Maine, the courts have upheld the situation where homeschoolers can participate only on public school teams, and may not participate on private school teams.  A possible justification for this is to prevent private schools from attracting all the best players in a geographic area.

In Pennsylvania, the Clarion-Limestone School District approved a policy for homeschooler participation in extracurricular activities.  In this case the homeschooled students are required to meet the same eligibility requirements applied to the enrolled students.

• The Clarion News, Strattanville, Pennsylvania, 13 December 2005, C-L OKs home-schoolers’ participation

  District Superintendent Richard Slack has said the new policy will adhere as much as possible to the guidelines that now apply to regular students so there is consistency in rules applying to home schoolers and enrolled students.

  Home schoolers will have to meet the same eligibility requirements as regular C-L students, including academic requirements assessed on a weekly basis.

As long as extra-curricular participation is tied to school attendance, whether public or private, homeschooling families who want that participation will have to make sacrifices of some sort concerning those activities.

This entry was posted on December 16, 2005 at 10:07 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.