"Home Schooling" and Public School Athletics
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-02-09/home-schooling-and-public-school-athletics
Virginia lawmakers are considering a proposal to allow home-schooled children to participate in public school athletic programs. The proposed legislation has been nicknamed the "Tim Tebow Law," after the famously home-schooled professional football player. Kojo explores the issues at play and what they could mean for parents and students in the Commonwealth.
Guests
Dave Zirin
Sports Editor, The Nation; Author, "The John Carlos Story" (Haymarket Books) and "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports" (Haymarket Books)
Scott Woodruff
Senior Counsel, Home School Legal Defense Association
Comments
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Learning and experience occur in many places and take many forms. If I believe a homeschool child could benefit through athletic experiences unavailable to them outside of my local public school, then why not? A better question for the VHSL and VEA might be why would any fair-minded adult have a vested interest in limiting access to the children of tax-paying citizens? I just don't see the upside in discriminating against kids.
I certainly agree that there are many ways around academic rules governing participation in high school football. But it is totally inappropriate to paint all IEPs as ways for kids to avoid scholastic opportunity and responsiblity. Painting the IEP process as a simple bypass paints all children with IEPs as slackers, or having a "touch of ADD" is absolutely not the case. To make your point it is not necessary to paint children with disabilities with a broad negative brush. The IEP process is deeply flawed but it is not, for most children, including mine, a way around education, rather for many children it could be a path to education.
Many private schools can not afford teams in all the sports that public schools do. Would you then let private school students play for public schools too?
We made the decision to put our kids in private schools for middle and high school years. We did so knowing there would be tradeoffs, and that one would be the athletic opportunities would not be the same. Both of our children are competitive athletes, so this was significant. But we picked the path we wanted, still paid taxes to the public schools, and accept the positives/negatives of our choice. You can't have your cake, and eat it too.
Also, what about the public school students who participate in the entire school program, and then don't get to play because their spots are taken by a homeschooled student? To me, you make your choice going into it based on what is important to you.
I wish they had spent more time discussing the implications for private schools, because I found Mr. Woodruff's argument on that point to be weak, if not absurd. I went to a small private school through 8th grade. There are many more home-schooled students in my area than there were at my school, so his argument that just isn't accurate. If they are allowed to play sports in public schools, I should have been, as well. If it hadn't been for club soccer, I would have had very limited athletic opportunities. My parents paid taxes, too. How is that any different?
I canot think of a reason private-school students who attend schools with limited athletic resources shouldn't be allowed to participate alongside public school students as well. Maybe those who attend private schools would be well-served to make this point to their legislative representatives?