If you were unaware, the Tebow bill requests that homeschoolers be allowed to participate in public school athletics. Unlike in other states and areas of the country, there are not a lot of opportunities for homeschoolers to participate in athletics. Alabama sports basically has a monopoly, the AHSAA supported by the state that does not allow homeschooled groups (even when they can pull one or two together) to play against public school student. Why would they budge anyway, when they are getting the desired result (for public schools) of getting homeschooled students to enroll in public schools for high school?
So, it’s clear that those who run public education in Alabama don’t want homeschooled kids to play on the field with public school kids.
“Bill opponents include the Alabama Education Association, the state superintendent of education, the Alabama Association of School Boards, and the Alabama High School Athletic Association. They cite what they believe to be valid fairness questions of subjecting some students to different rules.”
It doesn’t help that many homeschoolers are against the idea of taking part in state provided sports activities. These complaints come mostly from families that have homeschooled for years, possibly even since homeschooling first became popular, or even before that.
As stated by Ann Zeise, in this instance, you really can’t have your cake and eat it too. Acccording to Home Education Magazine,
“At first glance, having homeschoolers on public school sports teams might seem like a good idea. It would provide one more opportunity for homeschoolers, one more example of society’s acceptance of homeschooling. However, a closer look reveals that it would undermine our homeschooling freedoms. Fortunately, the vast majority of homeschoolers do not support homeschoolers’ playing public school sports, and many are opposed.”
(In the 8 years since this article has been written, the attitude toward excepting public services has changed as more and more people join homeschooling.) Still, the article is not irrelevant and makes some good points that should be considered. Here is one very possible possibility:
“consider the states that require that homeschoolers take standardized tests but do not require that they report their scores to the state. Homeschooling athletes could not simply say to school officials, “Yes, I took the required standardized tests, and I appreciate the fact that I don’t have to report my scores to you to be eligible to play on the team.” Once homeschooling athletes are required to report their scores to the state, it’s a short step to requiring that all homeschoolers report their scores.”
Read:
Homeschoolers and Sports Teams http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/homeschoolers-and-sports-teams
Homeschoolers Competing in Sports on Our Own Terms http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/homeschoolers-competing-in-sports-on-our-own-terms