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Frequently Asked
Questions and Answers:
We offer the
following Q&A topics but none of the answers make any difference,
regardless of how true the facts may be, if the reader is biased against
homeschoolers to begin with. The reader must first ask themselves if
they believe that all student-athletes of our state deserve an equal opportunity
to participate in extracurricular activities. That is the bottom line.
Let us keep in mind as a state that a student is a student –
regardless of where they receive their education. Each child is already
a part of our society. Turning out the best equipped individuals should
be the goal of us all. Some states, such as Florida, wisely offer an
almost complete cafeteria-style approach for home-schoolers where
the parents get to choose not only public school extracurricular
activities but also academic subjects such as science, music, math, or
other classes that their child needs. As frightening as that prospect
may seem for many entrenched public educators, the reality is that it
works out very well. Studies also prove that states which allow equal
access, like Minnesota, who is ranked number one academically according
to the
ALEC study, are consistently ranked in the top academic performance
states.
Regardless, the
system should not get in the way of what is best for the student.
School administrators and coaches are some of the hardest working and
most conscientious people in our state. They have constant demands on
them from all sides whether it be teachers, other employees, the state
education system, the Federal government, unions, parents, and last but
not least the students. They are to be commended for their diligence.
They need to realize though that equal access is not a problem waiting
to happen to them but rather a wonderful opportunity to add a few great students and parents to the team. Not
just the school sports team but the overall school team, the community
team. All the negative thoughts that come to mind for an
administrator simply have not materialized in the 23 other states that
permit equal access. We encourage administrators not to be so caught up
in the past or in the demands of the present that they forget what our
schools are supposed to be about.
This issue was
addressed completely by Mr. Craig Pouncey, Assistant State
Superintendent for Administrative and Financial Services, who was
present at the February 8th, 2006 House Education Committee
Public Hearing. He is on the Central Board of Control of the AHSAA.
He stated that that the school's policy covers students and
non-students.
There are
reliable metrics which show that, nationwide, only 3%-5% of
home-schooled students take advantage of equal access opportunities in
states where it is allowed. This is according to information from the
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). In Alabama this
would mean possibly 750 to 1,250 students would participate statewide,
which equates to about one student per school or 10 per district.
Therefore, the impact would be miniscule. These questions,
however, ignore the tremendous positive impact. We need look no
further than Florida’s Tim Tebow for an example of positive impact!
Interesting
statistic from Brenda Dickinson, Florida Homeschool
spokes person who helped with the bill’s passage in Florida in 1996:
There are an estimated 51,000 homeschooled children in Florida. In the
2004-2005 school year, 315 home education students participated in
athletics. That's less than 1%, in a state which has been welcoming
homeschoolers to their schools for extracurricular activities and
classes for ten years now.
There is no
reason to believe that Alabama would be any different from any other
state which offers similar opportunities.
Most school teams
will not add extra positions for a sport or band to accommodate
homeschoolers so the cost is nil in this case. Some schools may choose
to add extra positions on a team or individual sport. However,
typically it is the booster clubs that raise the lion’s share of the
athletic money spent. It is likely that homeschool parents would be
some of the most enthusiastic supporters of a booster club!
The answer to the
cost issue also depends on if the schools decide to count a partial
student. What is not pointed out by the opposition is that Alabama
spends on average about $6,300 per student, per year. The state’s
25,000 or more homeschoolers save the taxpayers approximately
$157,500,000 each year in State and Federal funds
by not requiring public school services! Below is a fitting quote from
a letter from a dedicated homeschool mom, Marcia Guyse, who holds a
masters degree and is a certified teacher who taught for years in the
Alabama and Texas school systems:
“If we as
educators truly want what is best for the student, then we will include
all students, including home-schooled students. A new day is dawning
for education. In states like Minnesota, whose educational program is
ranked number one in the nation, parents can choose the best path for
the education of their children, whether it be public schools, private
schools, charter schools, or home schools. The state does not penalize
them for this choice by excluding them from any services, but state
funds actually follow the child to the school that is chosen.
Presently, those 25,000 home schoolers in the State of Alabama are
saving the state a $6,300 per student expenditure. Dr. Paul Hubbert is
worried about the "cost" of passing this legislation. Couldn't just a
little of that money follow those students to a school's sports or music
program? It's time for educators [and teacher’s unions] to quit
worrying about economic and political costs of education and start
thinking of the cost of not offering the best educational opportunities
to all students in Alabama."
In New Mexico,
which passed equal access legislation just last year,
their Governor pledged a small amount of money to extend
opportunities to their home and charter schools. He set aside two
million which also included programs to help their identified 17
low-performing public schools.
Any real issues
relating to cost can easily be worked out just as they have been in all
the other states that permit equal access. Surely we in Alabama are as
smart as legislators and educators in these 22 other states.
Research from other
states has shown that the instances are non-existent of parents removing
their child and claiming to home-school the child just so the child can
get back on the team to play sports next year. If it were that big of a
problem then other states would have already experienced it.
The Bill States:
"A student of
a public school or private school who has been unable to maintain
academic eligibility for participation in extracurricular activities
is ineligible to participate in such activities as a student
instructed by a private tutor until the student has successfully
satisfied standards to regain eligibility that are equivalent to
those standards imposed on other students at the same grade level."
Homeschoolers would have to play by
the same academic eligibility rules as any other team member. On
the one-page Florida form, the parent must fill out the student’s
relevant grades, sign, and notarize the form. That is a legally binding
attestation to the validity of the statements therein. Just as when any
other student is found to be ineligible for any reason, a home-schooled
student can be removed from a team or sport.
Is it
technically possible for a parent to be dishonest in this respect? Of
course it is. But how many parents would decide to make the tremendous
sacrifice that might be necessary in order to homeschool the child just
so they could lie in this manner. It is naïve to believe that this
could ever be a big problem. Isn’t it also conceivable that if a
well-meaning parent removed their child from public school and began to
educate the child academically at home that the child’s grades could
actually improve? For those very rare instances where the child was not
being schooled at all then the truancy laws of the state should be
enforced. That is not a homeschool issue.
Eligibility can
indeed be a problem for schools for any student, whether public,
private, or home-schooled and the AHSAA and the school systems do a good
job, overall, of policing this issue currently for member schools. We
are confident that the tiny number of homeschooled athletes who would
choose to participate could be incorporated into the rules with hardly
any issues. If other states can make it work (23 and growing) then why
can’t we?
Anyone who knows
much at all about the academic performance of homeschoolers knows that
they
score higher on standard achievement tests than students educated in
any other manner. Homeschoolers’ average scores are consistently in
about the 85th percentile. So, this assertion is utterly
preposterous. While there are isolated cases of students not being
schooled at all and claiming to homeschool, cases are very rare and are
not a home-schooling problem but rather a problem with the truancy laws
not being enforced by local authorities. Local authorities have the
obligation in such instances to investigate where it is believed that
children are not receiving any education. The occasional errant
parents, whether public or alleged homeschoolers, should be handled on a
case-by-case basis.
Please reference
above response regarding homeschoolers academics. Frankly, the superior
academic performance of homeschoolers is almost legend by now. The
press knows it (look at any national academic competition such as
spelling, science, essays, etc.), the colleges know it (many are
actively recruiting homeschoolers), and the standardized tests prove
it. To imply, as the opposition does, that homeschoolers don’t measure
up academically is either dishonest or indicative of biased against
home-schoolers. Schools could easily verify a homeschooled student’s
academic eligibility if necessary and this is addressed in the Alabama
bill just as it was in Florida’s bill.
As a brief
history, there are two methods to legally homeschool in Alabama,
-
the tutorial law
(a private tutor or parent with a teaching degree and current
license) Parents who
homeschool under the tutorial law are already required to
provide grade sheets for their children to the local school
district.
-
the church
school cover law: Those who homeschool under a church school
covering are under the supervision of the Church School
Administrator (in most cases the Pastor if the church). The
Church School Administrator will be responsible for providing proper
documentation to the public school to ensure the academic
eligibility of each student who wishes to participate. The homeschoolers who wish to
take advantage of equal access to sports do not have a problem providing
this information if requested specifically to confirm eligibility.
It
should be noted also that the state of Alabama already entrusts
homeschool parents with the education of their children. Why should the
schools or the AHSAA not treat homeschoolers the same with regards to athletic
eligibility?
On this website
is a copy of the
form used in Florida by the Florida
High School Athletic Association by participating students.
It shows how easily many issues can be addressed on just a single form.
If grade verification is an issue then it can be handled just as easily
in Alabama.
The correct
question is; 'How would a homeschool athlete be disciplined?' Is not the
coach the first line of discipline on any team? Followed by the parent?
The bill states that the homeschool athlete would be required to adhere
to the same rules and guidelines as the public school student and that
the rules and consequences must be in published form. A home-schooled athlete who required discipline would be treated like
any other student. If they need to be "benched", then "bench"
them. They can be required to run wind-sprints or laps or do
push ups just like a public schooled student. If that does not do the
trick then the parent can be contacted. This is much easier for
homeschoolers as a homeschooled child will, by default, have at least
one parent or guardian who is very involved in the child's life. It's
that simple. The coach is the first line of discipline followed by the
parent. If an issue arises of school policy on the field then obviously
the school administrator can discuss the issue with the coach and parent
and if a suitable change can not made then the child can be suspended
from the team.
"Wouldn't these
"superstar" homeschoolers take their position on the team?" This
legislation would not necessarily increase the size of a team so, of
course, some athletes who are not as skilled might not make the team
(this, by the way, would include some homeschooled students who are not
as skilled). This will be a very minor issue as some teams can take on
more members than they currently have in certain sports, i.e.,
football. This would actually help smaller school teams in
particular. Larger schools that may have to limit the number of students
on certain teams have other sports at which the “cut” student may be
more adept. Regardless, skill does not discriminate and it is well
understood that “making the team” is part of life in general. This is
fairness. If a homeschooled student were a better athlete and chose to
enroll in the school then another player would be bumped anyway. So
this is a non-issue and should not enter into intelligent debate.
This has been
addressed in the rewritten bill. The bill includes only sports and band. As
homeschoolers already participate at some local public schools in
certain extracurricular activities such as music, it seems that
individual local schools have already decided that allowing certain
students to participate in certain areas already produces a win-win
situation. This bill does not seek to limit that opportunity for
homeschool students that live in a district that already permits
such activity. The bill would even-out the opportunity and make it more
fair as it would apply to all students regardless of school zone.
This is also
addressed in the re-write of the bill. The rewritten bill stipulates
that it is for homeschoolers only. A point worth mentioning is that
Alabama schools are already dealing with homeschoolers playing on
opposing teams. This was readily apparent when Tim Tebow’s, Nease HS
from Florida played our very own Hoover HS in 2005.
This is an old
argument with inherent bias against homeschoolers. First of all there
is no “you” nor “our” to this issue. We are all citizens of this state
with hopefully the same goal in mind and that is to provide the best for
our children. This is about what is best for the student – not
what is merely good enough. A homeschooled student is a student
in this state just the same as a public or private schooled student and
therefore deserves equal and fair treatment - especially by the
state-sponsored educational establishment. This should apply to
athletics as well as academics. A child can freely walk into any
school in this state in the district where they legally reside and
obtain educational services. This should not exclude
extracurricular activities that are offered by that school. Many
who exhibit this attitude often have the misconceived notion that
homeschoolers think they are “better” than others. While this
notion may be the case in some instances, the same could be said of
public-schoolers. So it simply points out a bias or resentment
towards homeschoolers. Again it has
nothing to do with the intelligent debate that many on both sides of
this issue are trying to conduct. Those who choose to continue to hold
this attitude should realize at least that this is an instance
where homeschoolers are offering an olive branch and trying to reach out
to the public school system.
On a side note,
it is blatantly unfair to many citizens that illegal immigrants to our
great country and state can enroll their children, technically, the day
they move into a district and receive all benefits offered to any other
student. This participation includes the right to participate in
extracurricular activities. This applies to foreign exchange students as
well. Even they have more rights than our state's very own
homeschoolers. Homeschool families, many of whom have been upstanding,
legal, tax-paying citizens of this state for decades, are excluded. Is
this fair?
This is no
different from the way things are now
and AHSAA guidelines already help curb this type of abuse. This
bill will have no effect one way or the other with this and it has
always been dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The bill states
that the homeschool student must adhere to the same residency
requirements as the public school student.
Representative
Randy Davis during the February 8th, 2006 Public Hearing on gave a specific example in his district of a homeschooled student
who was allowed to play in the public school band. He expressed what a
great experience it was for all involved.
USA Today also had an article about this subject.
This is a voluntary opportunity only for homeschoolers who fill out a
form and request to be involved in the program. It will have no effect
on other homeschoolers who wish not to be bothered.
We
homeschoolers are indeed an independent bunch! We homeschoolers who
support this legislation understand the battle that had to be fought
nationwide to be able to exercise the God-given responsibility and the
right to educate our children at home if we deemed it best for the
student. But frankly that is a past battle; it will not be fought
again. We won! Homeschooling is well accepted as part of the
educational options for many citizens. While it will take the
educational “system” a while to accept this, it is occurring. I’m
afraid that in our zeal for homeschooling, we often forget that it is
not about the right to do this or do that but it is about what is
best for each child that is important.
Many of us are veteran homeschoolers with many years under our belts.
Others who support this bill were ardent pioneers from the “early days”
of the homeschool movement who’s children have long-since graduated and
are even now homeschooling their own children. We encourage
homeschoolers who have problems with this bill to avoid knee-jerk
reactions and get the facts and then join us in this fight for more
rights for homeschoolers who choose public school extracurricular
activities. Let’s face it, if athletics is your gifting, public schools
can be and are indeed a wonderful place to showcase and develop your
talents.
Interscholastic extracurricular activities are an important complement
to the academic curriculum. Participation in a comprehensive
extracurricular and academic program contributes to student development
of the social and intellectual skills necessary to become a well-rounded
adult.
Many
extracurricular activities can be provided to students on an individual
basis, such as tennis, golf, piano lessons or art. However, some sports
or activities require groups of students and cannot be achieved on an
individual basis.
Children
have different gifts. Not all can or want to play football or baseball,
but each deserves to have the opportunity to develop his or her
talents.
Most of us have been involved in homeschool teams and have
seen many other great examples of valiant efforts by great
homeschoolers to field teams of excellence. But let’s be honest, short
of Bill Gates joining the movement, do we think we could ever fund
sports programs to the level necessary to bring them up to the caliber
of most of the public and private school teams? While we know full well
that there is more to athletics than funding and visibility, it is
nonetheless an important part. And what about continuity of the program
and coaches? Homeschoolers don’t have the options afforded by public
schools in this regard. Private schools, co-ops, the AAU, enrolling in
public school, etc. are indeed all viable options but why limit
ourselves if we don’t have to?
Again, this
option is available at some level in over 20 states already and we have
not found one state that experienced adverse effects or instances where the freedom
or rights of homeschoolers has been harmed. In 2006 when a local
Pennsylvania school tried to “retest” a homeschooled athlete they were
quick to drop the requirement when confronted by facts from the HSLDA.
HSLDA also
states, in the states where equal access laws have been passed there has
not been one case where additional laws have been passed that affect the
homeschool population of that state.
Tim Tebow Bill
Anticipated Level of Participation in Alabama Public School
Athletics by Home-educated Athletes;
The
Facts
1.
Statistics from the Home-school Legal Defense Association show that in
states that support Equal Access, only 3-5% of eligible home-schooled
students try out for public school teams.
2. In
Florida there are an estimated 50,000 home-educated students K-12.
Last year only 315 home-schooled students participated in Florida public
school athletic programs.
3. In
Alabama there are an estimated 25,000 K-12 home-educated students -
about ½ the number in Florida. This equates to possibly 7,000 high
schooled students at the most, but the number is probably between 2,500
and 5,000 – most of whom of course are not even interested in
athletics or band.
4. If the
above numbers were used to try to estimate the number of
home-educated students who would even try-out for public and private
school extracurricular activities currently monopolized by the AHSAA
(412 public and private member schools, 1A-6A) then the total would
be somewhere between 150 and 300. A recent study by the
operators of the timtebowbill.com website put the numbers even lower, at
perhaps 80-100 statewide.
In
Alabama this equates to LESS THAN ONE home-schooled athlete per AHSAA
member high school! How could this possibly have any
significant impact on the system? Yet, think of the positive impact it
could have on that one young person’s life as well as on the team,
coaches, and community. Think of the impact this opportunity had on Tim
Tebow and the state of Florida!
Opponents
raise "straw-man" arguments based on theories or "what-if’s". The facts
from the current 22 states that support some form of Equal Access do not
support their nonsensical theories. In fact, once this roadblock to
progress is removed, most schools will be thankful for more quality
athletes - especially small 1A school teams.
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Just as the Alabama
legislature has decided that public schools do not hold a monopoly on
education, so the AHSAA should not hold a monopoly on competitive
athletics.
The AHSAA is a
private organization which governs all middle and high school
competitive athletics in Alabama and discriminates against certain
classes of students based on their educational choice.
It is time for the
State Legislature to require the AHSAA to stop discriminating against
students because of an educational choice. Students taught at home
under a church school covering or by a private tutor cannot participate
in athletics because a private organization, acting on behalf of the
State, prohibits their participation.
The SUPREME COURT OF
THE UNITED STATES in the BRENTWOOD ACADEMY v. TENNESSEE
SECONDARY SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION et al. Stated in the opinion
of February 20, 2001, “Save for the Sixth Circuit, every Court of
Appeals to consider a statewide athletic association like this one
has found it to be a state actor.
Whether the AHSAA is a
statutory agency of the State is immaterial because the AHSAA fulfills a
certain function on behalf of the State for public schools. Just as
public schools and governments are not allowed by federal law to
discriminate against students based on race, sex, religion, the AHSAA as
a “State Actor” cannot discriminate either. Therefore, the State of
Alabama has given parents the right to teach their children under a
church school covering and must allow these students based on their
religious choice of schooling to participate in competitive athletics.
Public schools do not
“own” competitive athletics, they belong to the students, their
families, and the residents of Alabama. It is just as much in the
interest of the State of Alabama to help students in private and church
schools to develop to their full potential as students in the public
school. The Legislature should not allow such a discriminatory practice
to take place. The AHSAA is, in essence, a private exclusive club,
which permits only certain students in Alabama to enjoy the
privilege of group activities because of the schools they attend.
At least 23 other states
recognize the importance of extracurricular activities in the
development of a child. Alabama needs to do what is in the best
interest of all children. All parents pay taxes to support the free
public education system, but their children are penalized because they
chose a different path to education. Education is a requirement for
Alabama children. Extracurricular activities is a privilege and should
be an opportunity for all children, not just those who attend a public
school.
The Alabama Legislature
needs to do what is in the best interest of all the students in Alabama
and pass the “Tim Tebow Bill.”
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