Public schools tap homeschoolers
By Jan Bontekoe
The Hamilton County School Board revisited their July decision to not allow home educated students to participate on area school teams and voted this time to allow home educated students to participate beginning with winter sports.
The rule applies to homeschooled students registered with their local education district.
Those covered under a church-affiliated program or other umbrella group are excluded.
The following ruling will only apply to students already registered for this school year with the LEA. The ruling is as follows:
A homeschooled student wishing to participate in extracurricular athletics at a member school shall be eligible if the following qualifications are met:
The fine print
The student shall be enrolled in a homeschool study program in compliance with Section 49- 6-3050(b)(1) and be registered with the local director of schools (or head of school, if a private school) by August 15 of the current school year.
The participating student must have a legal residence within the school district where he/she is registered, if registering with a public school. If registering with a private school, the student must have a legal residence within 20 miles of the private school and meet all tuition and financial aid requirements.
By Aug. 15 of the school year, the parent or guardian must make application to the principal of the member school in which the homeschool athlete wishes to participate.
The homeschool athlete shall meet the same academic standards required of a member school student athlete to participate in the athletic program; however, the Director of Schools for public schools (or the head of school for private schools) in which a homeschool athlete wishes to participate shall work with the parent or guardian to ensure that the homeschool athlete is academically eligible. If a homeschool student’s course of study does not include five (5) academic subjects, then the Director of Schools (or head of school, if a private school) and the parent shall develop an alternative measure of academic progress and submit the same to the TSSAA for approval. The member school shall provide proof of academic eligibility to the TSSAA each semester.
The homeschool student must provide proof of basic medical insurance coverage and both independently secured catastrophic insurance coverage and liability insurance coverage which names the TSSAA as an insured party in the event the school’s insurance provider does not extend coverage to students enrolled in homeschool programs. The insurance must be in place before the homeschool student practices or participates.
The LEA may impose a participation fee for each athletic sport in which a homeschool athlete wishes to participate. Such participation fee shall not exceed three hundred dollars annually for each sport and shall be paid in full prior to the first regular season contest. A homeschool student participating at a private school shall be subject to full tuition and financial aid rules.
The homeschool student must meet all other TSSAA eligibility requirements.
All eligibility issues may be appealed in accordance with the Bylaws of the TSSAA.
The homeschool athlete must adhere to the same standards of behavior, responsibility, performance, and code of conduct as other participants of the team.
This rule gives a homeschool athlete the opportunity to try out for a member school’s athletic team. Ultimate decisions on the roster are left to the member schools and are not governed by the TSSAA. No student is guaranteed participation, but only the opportunity to try out for a position on the team, subject to the other provisions of this rule.
CSTHEA will continue to offer sports and other extra-curricular activities for area home educated students. Mock trial and drama as well as many sports teams are some of the activities available.
Please see www.csthea.org for more information on CSTHEA sponsored activities. If you are interested in starting an activity not offered to our students please contact Janell Bontekoe at janell@bontekoes.com for activity start up information.