The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Like his two older brothers, Patrick Foss hasn’t joined a public high school sports team.
The issue isn’t athletic ability – the Loudoun County 17-year-old is one of the nation’s top-rated teenage soccer players – but a policy that keeps home-schooled students off public school sports teams.
“Every Friday night, I see the lights come on at my local high school and I wonder what it must be like to play in front of a hometown crowd,” Foss said during a morning committee hearing as he urged passage of a bill to give home-schooled students a chance to take the field.
The House Education Committee obliged Wednesday, advancing HB947 on a 14-8 vote and sending it to the House floor.
Clearing the committee where such legislation has stalled before is a key step for the perennial proposal now dubbed the Tebow bill, after Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos quarterback and onetime home-schooled athlete.
The home-school legislation appears likely to vault out of the Republican-controlled House this year. Its true test awaits in the reconfigured Virginia Senate, where the GOP now has an edge.
Supporters of the bill say it levels the playing field for kids whose parents choose an alternative educational environment but still pay taxes toward public schools.
Those students “just want to try out; they just want a chance,” Del. Rob Bell, an Albemarle County Republican carrying the bill, testified before a packed hearing room Wednesday.
In addition to home-schoolers and social conservatives, the bill also has strong backing from Gov. Bob McDonnell.
Standing against it are education interests ranging from public school officials, the state teachers lobby and the Virginia High School League, a governing body for interscholastic athletics.
Opponents argue it’s unfair to allow kids taught at home with different academic progress rules to compete for spots on the roster with those who spend all day in class before taking the field.
Hollie Godfrey, student activities coordinator at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, questioned how she’d compare the academic standing of home-schoolers with those in public school who must be enrolled in five classes and meet grade-point average requirements to play sports.
She noted that other athletic options exist for home-schooled students, referencing Foss’ success as evidence.
Other opponents questioned the wisdom of opening the door to certain activities for students who shunned public school instruction, saying it would take away spots from kids who rely on sports programs.
“If the public schools do not meet their needs in the daytime and our coaches are predominantly our public school teachers … how can we meet their needs after school?” said Melody Modell of the state Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
Bell’s bill features a sunset clause, meaning legislators would revisit the issue in four years, and other provisions to ensure participation standards are met.
Among those voting against it was Del. Bob Tata, a Virginia Beach Republican who chairs the committee.
“You’re either in or you’re out,” Tata, a former high school coach and counselor, said when asked why he opposes the bill.
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We are speaking of sports
I know that at my school an athlete that doesn't make the grade is removed from the team regardless of their athletic prowess. Read the paper today and see on the front page of the sports section that there are a number of blue chip players who didn't qualify for college -- they really have to work to be that dumb, but that's another dialogue. And I would argue that coaches can have potentially more influence on a kid than their teachers ever could. So if you're worried about exposing your kid to liberal thinking teachers, I'd be more concerned about like-mided coaches.
Home-Schooled Children and Public School Sports
If home-schooled children are permitted to play sports in public schools because their parents pay taxes then children who attend private and religious schools whose parents pay taxes should be afforded to same privilege.
Aren't we speaking of Sports
Folks we are speaking of sports not education. I understand why families home teach as they are not willing to allow some liberal teacher to put crazy thoughts in their heads. Think about it. Most kids go to school today to learn two things - Pass the SOLs and (well I'll let you figure the other one out). However the sports programs should be open to everyone. If your child is a good football player at Oscar Smith do you think he will be eliminated from the team because of grades? Hell No, they will keep him passing and send him to college with a full paid scholarship. So don't say kids must meet certain grades to play sports. The only ones this applies to are the ones that aren't very good players.
Aren't we speaking of Sports
Folks we are speaking of sports not education. I understand why families home teach as they are not willing to allow some liberal teacher to put crazy thoughts in their heads. Think about it. Most kids go to school today to learn two things - Pass the SOLs and (well I'll let you figure the other one out). However the sports programs should be open to everyone. If your child is a good football player at Oscar Smith do you think he will be eliminated from the team because of grades? Hell No, they will keep him passing and send him to college with a full paid scholarship. So don't say kids must meet certain grades to play sports. The only ones this applies to are the ones that aren't very good players.
Not a good idea
Eventually home school parents will be successful in this effort because it costs nothing to keep trying until they are. That will be a sad day in my view. I'll be interested in seeing how the VHSL will change their eligibility rules to address this. There would be no fair way to implement this under current rules, and although the current rules are not stringent enough in my view, they are quite detailed and specific. Home school students can't meet those rules. Perhaps the high school coaches - who are often those same lousy teachers the homeschoolers are avoiding - will just cut all of the home schooled children. I pay taxes too, but I don't get welfare or medicare because I don't meet the requirements. Maybe there should be a law!
I agree. And if they can't play, they don't have to
pay property taxes to support the school!
Problem solved.
Property taxes
Interesting concept. I use very few local services compared to many people. Should I get out of part of my property taxes too. This is a very easy topic to argue on both sides, but the fact is we don't always get a direct return on our tax dollars and how they are used may not always seem fair to us.
How about some HEALTHY debate instead of name-calling?
People choose to home school for a wide variety of reasons - to label them all because you know one person that does for one specific reason is unfair. Also, just because you pay taxes does not mean you are entitled to everything the government provides from those taxes. Plenty of people who have no children in school pay the same taxes. It's a simple question with a difficult answer, "As an extra curricular activity, is sports participation an entitlement granted to the area or to the student body of the school in question?" Personally, I believe the latter. As popular as home-schooling is though, aren't there enough students to form their own teams and I would aggree that they should be allowed to play "in the league" as such.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Extra-Curricular activities in a public school is not a right but it is a privilege for students in good standing. They must take a certain amount of classes depending on the school's scheduling format and they must pass a certain amount of those classes with a certain GPA. How would that be objectively determined with a home schooled child??? This has turned into a debate about public school vs home school education. There are advantages and disadvantages with both. It depends on which one benefits your individual family. An athletic association of home schooled kids can be formed. It has already been done in the Richmond area.
Where does atheletic recruiment come in
This seems to me to open the door for recruiting standout kids to play for a select school. A school team that is composed of both students and non students then it not a school team but just a collection 0of kids. If home schooled kids feel the need for the benefits of team sports let them build a team of only home schooled students. There are lots of little league football teams, it wouldnt be cost prohibitive for a group of parents start a team.