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Email a FriendHomeschoolers are actively excluded from any and all public school activities in my area. My state even had to pass a law to MAKE the public schools allow homeschoolers in their district to take standardized tests such as the PSAT and even after that I had to go toe-toe with the guidance counselors when my daughter was ready for the PSAT. There is a LOT of animosity towards homeschoolers thinking they are ‘better’ and ‘what? our school isn’t good enough for you?’ Any homeschooler who tried to participate in an extra-curricular activity would be laughed out of the school office. The usual administrative excuse is that there is a minimum standard of academic achievement required for students to play sports and that there is no way for the school to verify a homeschooler is meeting those requirements (in my no-reporting state). Therefore, homeschoolers would probably have to go from our 100% independent of the school/gov’t status to reporting and portfolio reviews etc….in order to play sports or participate in band. There are very few homeschoolers that I know that would be willing to give up that freedom for the sake of sports. If it was voluntary, there would be some support. IOW, if you want to play sports you submit to the TAKS/STAAR/EOC and portfolio review if you want to stay independent, then you stay independent and give up the opportunity to play sports. I don’t see such legislation happening though.
Home-schoolers Want to Play
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Thursday, February 09, 2012 11:51 AM
Home-schoolers in Virginia wanting to play on public high school sports teams are getting closer to their goal—the Virginia House of Delegates passed the “Tim Tebow” law, as it’s being called, and the vote will now go before the Senate.
Our friend and colleague Elizabeth Foss was front and center in the debate—that’s her son pictured (this picture also ran front page at the New York Times coverage of the debate and vote).
Is there any reason to oppose this measure? The argument is that home-schooling parents pay taxes just like everyone else—and actually save the state money by educating at home. Opposers say there’s a risk of sports and other curricular activities becoming an a la cart system where homeschool students can pick and choose what they participate in. Is that anything to worry about?
I’m curious how those of our readers who homeschool integrate other resources into their lives—sports, classes at the local public high school, spelling bees, etc. Obviously the tremendous benefit of homeschooling is that parents have the advantage of utilizing the best of everything available—is there any reason that can’t include local high school sports?
p.s. Looking good, Elizabeth! Great work.
Comments
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Personally, I don’t think homeschoolers should expect to participate in extracurricular activities in the public schools. We are making a choice to choose an alternative educational path for our families, same as if we were sending them to private school. A public school wouldn’t accept a private school student into extracurriculars (at least in our area). In fact, it wouldn’t be allowed by our secondary athletic association; it would be considered recruiting. And I don’t think high school athletics or extracurriculars should be in the business of recruiting. That just opens up another can of worms and takes away opportunities from the students attending that school. So why should a homeschooler be allowed to participate. Extracurricluars in public schools aren’t just supported through tax dollars in most cases, they are supported by parents, pta’s, school fundraising, sale of athletic event passes, and other means. As a homeschooling family, you probably wouldn’t be involved in most of those areas of additional support. Now that may not be true of the major sports like football and basketball, but it is probably true of band, other sports and the arts. We have chosen to not be a part of the public school community, but a part of the homeschooling community. I know it is tough for families in rural areas and areas that have less active homeschooling communities, but it is still a choice. In my area, we do have options for sports, band, choir, theatre, scouts, 4-H, and the list goes on. I know that isn’t the case for everyone though. Still, it just doesn’t seem right to say that a school’s educational or moral/religious environments are inappropriate for our children, but hey you do have this one program that might be beneficial to us so let us participate in it. I think it should be all or nothing, not ala carte. As for things like testing, we have a couple of homeschool friendly private high schools that allow homeschooers to register for testing at their facilities with their students. You have to pay the same testing fee as the school’s students, but again, in making the choice to homeschool that should be expected. In my case, I live in a state with tremendous homeschooling freedoms and less regulation. Insisting that we need to have opportunities available to us through the public schools opens the door to more regulation. That is not a trade I am willing to make.
“Homeschooling Mom” really hit the nail on the head when she stated, “Still, it just doesn’t seem right to say that a school’s educational or moral/religious environments are inappropriate for our children, but hey you do have this one program that might be beneficial to us so let us participate in it. I think it should be all or nothing, not a la carte.” She is exactly right. It is for this reason that many public school parents and administrators don’t feel kindly toward homeschoolers treading on public school turf. Also, a Catholic homeschooling mother who stated on her blog that many public schools would love to have her children on their teams, was being a bit snobbish about the whole situation, and that rubs people the wrong way. Public schools aren’t fit places for your children, except where sports are concerned, and then….well, my homeschooled child can be the great evangelizer and show the public school children how a moral, religious, upright child SHOULD behave….I completely understand the homeschooling side of this, but we have to look at the other side’s (legitimate) gripe about the overall homeschooling attitude toward the public schools except….when we stand to benefit, such as in the sports arena.
What if an anti-public school mentality isn’t the main reason you homeschool? My primary reason to homeschool is that we move so much that my current 8th grader would be in his 6th school right now, would have moved at least twice in the middle of the school year and we’re supposed to be moving again before this school year ends. I homeschool so my children can have a consistent education, much more than a bias against public schools, in general (having been educated in public schools myself). So the argument that I have blown off the public schools because I don’t want my children associating with those other children or because the education is inferior is not true.
I think you have a unique situation. First, for the record, neither my husband or I are anti-public school. My husband was public schooled, I went to private. Our oldest started out in public school and we had really high hopes for the the situation. When we pulled our child out we definitely felt we had been pushed beyond our limits and had our backs to the wall with nowhere to turn. We weren’t the only family fighting the school at that point and we weren’t they only family that removed their children that year. But I guess I still feel like you have chosen an alternative educational path because you believe our current school system does not meet the needs for your family. Lots of families move around often and still have their children in public schools. Heck, in some inner city schools children without consistent living situations change schools all the time based on where they are at any given moment. It’s still a choice you have made. You took control of your children’s education and all that entails. I believe that at its core, this law is really about parents and students wanting superstar athletes to benefit from school athletics so they can receive scholarships and accolades. If that is the path a child is on, then maybe they should be enrolled in the school. If a child doesn’t fully benefit from the homeschooling experience anymore, then as parents maybe we should reconsider whether we are making the right choice. But no, I don’t think just because we pay taxes means our children should be able to participate.
Homeschooling Mom, we do not have a national school system (and I completely agree with this, BTW). Anyone who moves interstate has problems with different standards from one place to another. We are not unique - there are millions of children who are military dependents who are effected by frequent moves. Many who choose to use traditional schools make other sacrifices to give their children a more consistent education. I know families who have left older teens with another family for a year so they could graduate from the HS where they attended for 2 or 3 years. Often families stay behind while dad moves on - they catch up when the school year finishes. Sometimes, the family stays put as dad moves from place to place. More and more simply choose to homeschool. Even if the move is local, no school system could possibly accommodate children, even those who get shuffled from relative to relative, who bounce from one school to another. Most of us would not want to bounce from one DOCTOR to another, even within the same practice…why would we want our children to bounce from teacher to teacher?
Even if this law was for “superstar athletes”, so what? Average athletes would benefit as well.
Michelle, I’m sorry if I offended you, I wasn’t trying to. My example was just what popped into my head at the time. Of course military families move often and the families make tremendous sacrifices in doing so. I have relatives in the military that have made this work and have known many families in our homeschooling groups here in the military. You didn’t say whether or not you were in the military, I wasn’t assuming anything since you left it open. I knew when I posted that I would be in the minority, and at one point in my homeschooling adventure I felt that I deserved equal opportunities because I pay taxes. I just don’t feel that way anymore. There are lots of services my taxes pay for that I either don’t qualify for or choose not to use. I just happen to feel the same way about the public school system. And like you, I am very happy we don’t have a national school system. There is no way we would have the homeschooling freedoms we enjoy if we did.
You did not offend me at all. I just wanted everyone to realize that there are many people who are trying to get their children an education under less than ideal circumstances - that we are not unique. I think the vast majority of parents/caregivers want a solid education for their children, and many make significant sacrifices to do that - whether they homeschool or undergo family separation - and many more simply lament that their children fall through the cracks for one reason or another and they feel they are helpless to do anything about it - especially if you are considering single parent homes, homes where both parents must work to make ends meet, or homes where someone other than a parent becomes a caregiver. I am very grateful that my husband’s income is enough to allow us to make our children’s education a priority. My “entitlement mentality” regarding public education stems merely from the fact that I do support the public schools and the law says that my children are eligible to attend. I do not feel that my children have the right to enroll part-time in a private school, for example (although I do think many parochial schools could benefit from reaching out to homeschoolers and making part-time enrollment possible). At this point, I do not know if I would even participate in such programs (via a public or a private school) - I agree with one poster who suggested that very few HSers actually would enroll even if eligible. However, knowing that my oldest son - who will be in high school next year - has very few options for sports or music lessons (especially instruments meant to be played in an orchestra/band vs solo), I would definitely consider part-time enrollment if that were an option, and I support other parents who argue that such an arrangement is “fair.” Obviously, there are many public programs that my tax dollars support - some of which I qualify for and many of which I do not. Although I do not actually, theoretically, support tax money being used for the vast majority of the programs that exist (and there are times I sincerely question if we should have a public school system at all), I am not saying that I should have access to a program for which I do NOT qualify…only that if I DO qualify (and my children are eligible for a public school education)...than I can’t see any valid argument as to why I should not have access to a fraction of that program.
Just heard this as a topic on AM talk radio in the Philly area.
The host was in favor of including Hschoolers, and called the teachers’ unions and those involved in the action & opposed “miserable people”! (yikes!)
He mentioned the point that “there are attendance rules and academic standards” that determine a player’s eligibility & those cannot be equally enforced (allegedly) w/hschooling.
Another point was “what if a homeschooled kid takes up the slot that would have gone to a public school kid?”
The other topic for convo was TAXES, of course.
Very interesting, all around.
I sympathize with parents whose children could really benefit from participation in public school sports, clubs, etc.—& I do find it frustrating that our taxes still go the the public schools, which we are not utilizing—but, as a home educator, I highly value the freedom we currently have (which we must be diligent in protecting & vigilant about keeping!) & am not willing to make a trade-off if it means our freedom as parents is eroded one bit.
When we first moved to our current home 10 years ago, we found out that on our street and immediate neighborhood lived teachers, administrators, even the superintendent of our school district! I’ll never forget some of the negative comments we received as homeschoolers. As the years went by and the neighbors realized how “normal” we were, there was much more openness and understanding about the choice we were making to homeschool. Two years ago, my next door neighbor (a previous principal at a grade school, now an administrator in the school district) knocked on my door to give me the good news that our school district now allows homeschoolers to enroll part-time so that they CAN participate in sports and take classes at the school (a la carte). We were thrilled!! Our oldest daughter enrolled in the high school part time, but did not ever take a class there—she was able to use the enrollment as a springboard to do post-secondary at the local University. Even though we have not yet actually had our kids take any classes at the schools, I am very happy that the option is there. Actually, one of the private Catholic schools in the area is considering something similar—building bridges with the homeschooling community by offering certain classes for homeschoolers. Again, I am thrilled with this prospect. The more options, the better able I am to find what works for our family and for each child.
I had a difficult time getting speech therapy for my son and met with some hostile administrators. The eventual therapist was a lovely woman, though! I do think public schools should serve the public, including homeschoolers. I don’t think they should have the right to pick and choose who gets to use them and how. Yes, there can be eligibility requirements (residency, age, minimum scores on standardized tests), but they wouldn’t be public if they were closed to a segment of the population. All residents pay taxes (in more than one way) and should be entitled to the services funded by them. Offering things a la carte is merely demonstrating flexibility with the desires of the “customers” - the taxpayers. I really wish that private schools would also open their doors to homeschoolers, but as a private school, they have the right to decide their own policies. Additional out-of-pocket expenses should be paid for equitably, and I’m sure they are. Even parent volunteer hours or fundraising should (and likely would be) supported by the HSers as well. I don’t think HSers are looking for a free ride here - just an equal opportunity to participate.
I’m chiming in for just a moment with my personal reason for homeschooling, because I think Michelle has made extremely valuable points. There is an assumption, I’m learning, that homeschoolers make their educational choices for negative reasons—-that they are “anti” something. We choose to educate at home for positive reasons. For our family, staying home and learning together is the best education we can provide for our children. It’s our family’s choice—not a sweeping judgement of anything. I spent over half an hour on the phone with that reporter, hoping that he would understand that you can’t put homeschoolers in a box. Personally, we homeschool because we are passionate about education and want to take a greater role in the education of our own children. Before my children were born, I was a public school teacher. When they were born, I wanted to stay home and teach them instead of teaching someone else’s children while strangers taught mine. We homeschool our children because we actively pursue the very best opportunities we can for them. We don’t limit the way they learn to the four walls of a school building. We use the world as a classroom. In the case of sports like basketball and football, the very best opportunities for competition are in the public schools. Ironically, given the attention that Patrick is currently getting, that’s not the case for soccer. There, the best opportunities are private clubs and soccer academies. So, that’s one reason we want this bill to pass—it’s for the best opportunity. Another reason is that our children are well-integrated in our neighborhood. They play on club teams up through high school—and those teams have nothing to do with school except they are roughly grouped around local neighborhoods. But then, the kids hit high school age and the competitive ones are all funneled into the school athletics program. Suddenly, there’s no one left to play with kids who don’t go to the schools. Most importantly, our decision to homeschool was not a negative one: we didn’t choose to homeschool because we were rejecting or running away from the schools or the people in them. As a matter of fact, I hear about five of those people in my kitchen right now. We chose to homeschool for a positive reason: we wanted to continue to learn with our children in a family setting. So, the fact that we don’t send them to school eight hours a day doesn’t really have anything to do with the fact that we’d love for them to have the best athletic and community opportunities during what is typically extracurricular time.
I agree. We’re homeschooling right now and it would be wonderful if there were a la carte options to put our tax dollars to use for us. Many home schoolers choose to educate their children because we know our kids better than any administrator and want to tailor their education specifically to them. I don’t understand the all or nothing philosophy. I would think the state would jump at the opportunity to work with parents, it seems too often they want complete control over your child or nothing at all.
This issue is a lot more complicated than many of you realize….Many (most? all?) states have a “no pass, no play” rule…So your homeschooled child passed Spanish at his homeschool…another child failed it in Mrs. Garcia’s class at the public school. Home school, public school…different ways to measure passing. So you then respond that we will take a test to show that the homeschooled child knows what the public school student knows. No problem. But, yes, it is a problem. If your child was in the public school, they would have been in class, and would have been tested along with everyone else. Now… homeschoolers will be costing the taxpayers extra money because the school will have to use resources to coordinate testing your child…all because you, the homeschooler, want to have your cake and eat it, too. I’m just trying to point out that as homeschoolers, we are making a choice, and our choice should not make everything more complicated for the public schools. We can’t have the best of both worlds. And trying to include homeschoolers in the schools in an “a la carte” way, is a drain on resources, because nothing just happens without coordination and work on someone’s part…And public school parents have a right to be upset when homeschoolers take up teachers’ and administrators’ time with this “a la carte” business. Even if you pay taxes, that doesn’t mean that you can add to the public school system’s workload with your added demands. Lots of ramifications here that many of us homeschoolers don’t take into consideration while saying, “But I pay taxes!” It all boils down to the fact that you, as much as you would like to do so, can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Homeschooling requires sacrifices, and foregoing public school sports and other activities is one of those sacrifices we must make, in all fairness. (And, no, it doesn’t matter WHY you and I chose to homeschool.)
Michelle~
You should not have to fight for speech therapy services if you live in the district! Speak to the head of Special Education. If they argue, simply tell them you will be contacting a lawyer. . .ALL students who have special needs are to be serviced through the district.
For the homeschoolers that are for this law: Do you think kids that attend charter school or another private or Catholic school should be allowed to play on the public school team? Charter schools are usually small and do not field teams and sometimes the public school teams are better then the Catholic. Just wondering how far this law should go.
yes, i think the charter school kids are in an odd boat - those are *public* schools but without necessarily the big sport resources. they’re already part of the PS system, so i dont think it translates.
as for Hsing kids… we’re going to homeschool and i honestly don’t know how I feel about this…
Yes, I do. There are practical considerations about how to implement it; every school is different and has different strengths and weaknesses as it is. But it’s a public school. Yes, it should be open to anyone who is eligible to attend that school.
I am a public school educator & my children have attended a Catholic School, an independent college prep school & our eldest is is a Catholic college. The independent college prep school encourages home schooled children to come “al a carte” for classes & then they can participate in sports/clubs.
As for public schools, if homeschoolers can provide data (grades/attendance/test data) thn MY belief is that they should be allowed to play, as parents pay taxes. ( I have many students who do NOT meet eligibility requirements and play any way. . .along with the free/ reduced lunch. . .where others pay $200+ a sport.)
Our three children are athletes(2 soccer & 1 VB) and their competition is NOT from school! All three play on club teams~ where they are seen by more coaches. From speaking with other parents from different districts, there are club teams for every sport (the only one I don’t know about is football) . . .
I think it should be as simple as “You pay, you play”. If you live in the district, and pay taxes, you should be able to utilize the recreation fields. I live in NJ and believe it or not, it’s the private Catholic high schools that do more damage to the local “pay and play” rules that regulate the public schools. The private Catholic high schools are able to recruit kids from all over the tri-state area, house them and show case them for college recruiters. It’s the poor shlubs that live in the town that can only play with the local talent that lose out in the deal. So as long as you pay local taxes to fund the school district, pay whatever school activity fee that is required, I think homeschoolers should be allowed to play with their local high school teams. It just might make them as competitive as the private Catholic high schools!
In our district in southwest Michigan, we are welcomed and encouraged as homeschoolers to choose and participate in sports, extracurricular activities and any elective classes “a la carte”. The funny thing is that once it’s allowed and all the hoopla dies down (I don’t know if there was ever any hoopla here, but I can see there is some there in Virginia) most of the homeschooled students will never end up taking advantage of this opportunity for the same reasons that those families chose to homeschool to begin with. So I’m currently seeing this system work with no animosity from either “side” and in fact it makes the entire community more stronger and more cohesive. So many of the supposed downsides I’m reading about seem to be of the sour grapes variety and that is just unfortunate.
When we started homeschooling, we lived in Maine, where the law requires public schools to allow homeschoolers to participate in school-based extracurriculars. My son was the first homeschooled middle school student to play for a public school basketball team. Then we moved back to Massachusetts, where the rules are set town by town. We live in a town where the public schools welcome homeschoolers into the system “a la carte.” As a consequence, my daughter took language classes, my son took math classes, and all of my children have participated in music activities. They have benefited from the availability of the school resources, and we are grateful. But - the schools benefit, too, as I explained to the superintendent of schools when the school committee was revising its homeschool policy. My children (and other homeschooled children) are creative contributors in the classroom (this according to their teachers). My daughter was a member of the (very small) marching band for six years. My son, who plays in two very competitive orchestras, also plays the French horn for the high school band. A homeschooled student founded a high school club devoted to refurbishing castoff computers, which were then given to needy high school students and their families. Parents, too, give back. A homeschool parent has been president of the “Friends of Music” - the parent fundraising organization. I myself have gone house-to-house dropping off phone books, which is a fundraiser for the Friends. I was an assistant coach for the mock trial team for six years. The relationship between homeschoolers and the public schools in my town is a two-way street and benefits everyone.
So good to hear. Good points also. One of my son’s friends is homeschooled and they have been in a robotics club together at school. They will be doing it independantly next year though due ot the dynamics of the club. However his friend is taking classes next year and I actually do love how this friendship evolved. All because a school opened its doors.
I wonder if it may be more difficult in Virginia. My impression is that there is a lot more homeschoolers in the area Elizabeth Foss lives in. If you have a lot of kids in a school district being homeschooled would it be possible to have the public school team have to take on too much?
I don’t see this situation is one of having your cake and eating it too. As a resident, I am entitled to enroll my children in the public schools. That’s what they are for. Why then is it unfair if I do not utilize those resources fully? If instead of costing the taxpayers the same as my next door neighbors who attend full-time, I only cost the taxpayers 20% of that because as a homeschooler, we only utilize SOME of the resources. It makes no sense to begrudge me that partial cost if I am entitled to the full cost. As for charter or private school students, the same logic applies. If you are a resident, then the public schools are your entitlement. If we want to make all schools private, then that is fine. But as long as the schools system is designed to service the public, then it makes no sense to say that you either get 100% of the services or 0% of the services. ** MJ - I did receive the speech therapy for my son, no problem. It was just that the initial administrative person who handled my request (I walked into the physical school, which is what I had to do in VA, but we were now in GA) was ignorant of the rights of homeschoolers.
In my area there are charter schools funded by taxes, there are private schools with only 6 kids and there are big private schools and Catholic schools. It seems like it could get tricky to tell all of them that they can compete at the public high school because their parents pay taxes.
Most services we pay taxes on include guidelines as to what we need to do to qualify to use them. So the question is do you qualify for anything you want at the public school because you live there and pay taxes or do you qualify because your child is a student there? Most organizations have rules and regulations that need to be followed. I see where this can get tricky.
The best thing about this issue is that it causes everyone to THINK about education. The primary reason our public system is failing and our parochial system struggles financially is entrenched thinking. “It’s done this way, period.”
Learning can be accomplished in a multitude of ways and the more options, the more a la carte, it becomes the more individualized it becomes. Homeschoolers understand this and thus have learned to locate and create opportunities for their students so every child’s education is unique.
The idea that picking and choosing from educations parents pay for is somehow offensive to publicly schooling parents is strange to me. Just the suggestion implies that students should have to deal with all the crummy aspects of the system to get the perks is quite telling.
I am paying for public education. I am paying for homeschooling and frankly via our tithes to our parish we are paying for our parish school as well. I should have full and open access to ALL the education I pay for and the only person who should decide what is best for my children and what that combination should be, is me - well and my husband of course 
Parents who do not want this type of access might be worried that talented and gifted homeschooled students will come in and shine. They might have better scholarship qualifications in a multitude of areas. They will bring with them less baggage, strong values, supportive families and maturity. As a former coach these are exactly the students I want on my team.
This is really simple - you live in the district, you pay taxes, you get access the school as much or as little as you want.
Robin your post is coming off to me with a bit of an attitude that homeschooling students are the only ones who have less baggage, strong values, supportive families and maturity. It feels to me a bit arrogant. I purposely have people in my life who educate their kids in all kinds of ways. While we public school my kids have good friends who homeschool. I don’t see homeschooling families as not having any issues.
And from my experience public school is not failing my kids nor do I find it offensive that homecshoolers want to use resources at public schools. I find this dialogue good and is giving points from both side of the issue.
I want to remind you that you do have access to ALL the resources of the public school when you enroll your child in the school. You have made a choice to educate your child in a different way. No one has denied you this. The question is the “ala carte” system. I understand both sides of the equation.
In response to Beth.
I’m sorry, but you are mistaken I do not have access to ANY public school opportunities as our district is an all or none deal. I choose none. I have homeschooled for 13 yrs, graduated one, preparing another for graduation and I still have years to go with my youngest.
The public school system is failing. It’s disappointing to hear public school parents argue that the system is good because their child is okay, or their school is a good school. It ignores the system as a whole which is unarguably broken. Pick any area - we are behind most other industrialized nations in math and science. Minimal Basic Skills Tests are passed in mediocre numbers yet those students graduate. Schools in wealthy districts do well, middle income districts so-so and poor neighborhoods abysmally. Our school district, in Illinois where the states owes the districts millions and millions of dollars, where teachers are being laid off for budget issues - just purchased not one but two jumbo-trons for the sports complex. Parent Boosters. Wealthy District.
Kids not 20 miles from here in East St. Louis are educated in what in my opinion is a dump. As Christians, this is shameful. Those parents, all parents, need choices.
Worry about your kid first, okay, I do too. But as long as parents only worry about their kids and refuse to see the greater picture this system won’t change and 1/3 of our nations children will be failed by it.
Public school is government-run school. It’s not a local thing, it’s not cute, or quaint, or sentimental like it’s 1952, it’s a giant, oppressive, one size fits all beast, run by bureaucrats a thousand miles away who are more interested in catering to the unions than educating children. The system must change - open access, choices, parents making decisions.
Robin,
You have chosen not to enroll your kids in school. No one denied you access. Those are the rules of your district.
I know of homeschoolers that fail. However, I would not make the statement that homeschooling is failing. It is the all or nothing way you express things that I don’t see eye to eye with you on.
I have several friends that teach in inner city schools and I very much understand the struggles they face. They are many reasons for problems in public schools that have to do with problems in our society. It is a very complex issue. To say that the WHOLE system is failing in my opinion is being extremist. My goal is not to have my child perform as well as the children in China. I don’t think that country represents anything we want to follow. My children are learning things that are light years ahead of where I was at a child. The standards keep rising and yet you are screaming failure. I think with being the best in the world academically we would lose balance in other areas. Academic success is not the only goal I have for my kids.
Usually what I hear from people who express their views like you do is this: we want vouchers. I am not at all opposed to vouchers. The problem I have is that all schools would need to have their doors open to all children. Including the ones from difficult home situations and those with physical and learning disabilites. See what it is like to teach in a classroom where the primary language of half of the kids is not English. Teach in a classroom where only a few of the kids have parents that are married and even know their fathers. Give everyone the funds but yes they must accept everyone like the public school does. Otherwise, it will be just an elitist school. I see people who want to create an education system that excludes the marginalized in society. Jesus hung out and served everyone. If I have misread you I apologize. If the parents at the local independant orthodox Catholic school want vouchers then I want to see them serve everyone not just pick and choose the best and leave the hard cases to the public school system.
To the person who said that homeschoolers shouldn’t drain the public school district’s resources by providing academic testing to prove eligibility: Fine, have the parents pay for testing. I homeschool and recently paid to have my son take some standardized tests. I don’t think homeschoolers would have any problem with that or paying sports fees in public schools or helping with fundraising or anything else that is required. They aren’t asking for any special favors.
Personally I prefer homeschool sports anyway. I have never heard objectionable language or saw a parent argue with a referee or witnessed a kid putting down another kid on a homeschool sports team but I have seen and heard all of these things on the city sports teams we have occassionally participated in. So I am not exactly beating down the doors of the public schools around here to participate in their sports.
I like our Homeschool sports team, too, Monica. Many of the reasons you posted I would second, as well. It’s not so competitive, *another plus to me* because then my two kids who are not terribly coordinated can still play without ridicule…I love that!
There is an advantage to homeschooling. That is that you can spend the time and money to have your child travel with elite sports teams. He can devote more of his day to training and getting coaching to excel in his sport. High school football in some areas is very intense and highly competitive. Especially when your public school team gets ranked nationally. If homeschoolers can enroll their kids in public school sports what would be stopping them from creating elitist sports teams? Take all the kids that excel in football. If their parents have money thay can homeschool them and spend more time training them in their sport. The public high school kid does not have this time as they are in school all day. Football is not that intense in my area but take a look at Texas.
yes, many people homeschool because they can’t afford a good catholic school. or have large families in general, so not sure where the “more money” idea comes from
I think homeschooling and other alternative forms of education are growing in some communities. Here in Kansas there are at least a couple of “public school online at home” options in addition to a very relaxed homeschooling environment. As time goes on, it would be great if these different ways to educate children were recognized as equal choices among many options. Schools could then see a role for themselves that included homeschoolers as well as others, because they are all children in the same community and we want to ensure the best education possible for all students. I would love to see the ability of local schools to decide for themselves whether and how homeschoolers and others can participate. We are a part of a community and allowing any child to participate in a sport would help develop that sense. As I understand it, this particular law would allow local communities to decide for themselves, which is probably the best way to go for all decisions regarding education.
There are so many wonderful stories about how well the homeschooling and schooling communities interact in the above posts. In my area, there is still so much animosity towards homeschoolers by most of the public schools. We are afforded things like speech therapy, some special ed services and other such services through our public schools by law. It is much more common, in our urban and immediate suburban area at least, for the schools to fight tooth and nail to keep homeschoolers from those services. Things like trying to call to set services up and never getting a call back, then going to the office only to be told that can only be arranged over the phone, then waiting weeks to receive a return phone call to be told you have to come in to fill out paperwork before anything can happen. Most homeschoolers get the impression that they simply don’t want to be dealt with and certainly don’t want to be included. It is more common for teachers that you come into contact with through church, activities or in passing to start telling you all the horror stories they have about homeschoolers returning to school and being 3 grades behind. When public school teachers have any extended contact with my children they can never contain their shock when the tell me how surprised they are to hear we homeschool because my children are so bright and well-behaved. Then the tell be that’s not the norm. Couple that with how active our teachers’ union and the legislators that strongly support them are in trying to get homeschooling regulated and it just doesn’t seem like an “a la carte” system would work here at this time. I think for the time being it is best for homeschoolers here to continue building programs specifically for homeschoolers. But it makes me happy to know that there are communities out there that enjoy such cooperation.
The bureaucracy of a school, just like the rest of the school system, is in the service of the public. I think workload may be a valid (secondary) argument for or against something, but it must give way to the justice of the issue.
Public schools exist for all. They develop programs like honors, gifted and other types of special education, AP, dual enrollment, extracurricular clubs and competitions, because it’s good to have flexibility to meet various needs. I absolutely think the “a la carte” type of options should be available, and not just for sports, and “choice” comes in there as it comes in with the decision in general about whether to homeschool or not. That children should be able to avail themselves of tax-funded resources is already acknowledged in the IDEA regulations, regarding learning disabilities. If you’re homeschooling because you don’t want the general moral/religious environment, then you’re not likely to make the choice to take advantage of public school options.
And the idea that “not just taxes” go toward supporting public school teams as an objection is laughable. Does anyone really think that the family/community of a homeschooler would be *less* involved or would not pull their weight in such a case?
Just something to throw out there, and I don’t know if it matters but I’m curious to see other’s opinions. If a school is already at or above the legal number students per class as decided by that state’s legislature and board of education, should homeschoolers still be able to enroll in an “a la carte” system? In our state schools have to receive special exemption to be above the legal student/teacher ratio and many of our schools currently do receive that. Sometimes there are penalties involved. Under such circumstances, should homeschoolers not fully enrolled still be eligible. I know in our area these law affect the way districts and schools handle transfers by non-residents from outside the district.
We live in Minnesota, where homeschoolers are legally allowed to participate in local public school sports. In my area, they are the only teams available above gradeschool level. My 12 yo daughter participated in cross country this year while being homeschooled full time. I can tell you that no extra resources were spent on her being part of the team—not so much as an extra phone call or email if practice times or location changed.
As far as eligibility, it is innocent until proven guilty . Everyone is eligible, public schooled or homeschooled, unless they are put on academic probation, or a parent or teacher tells the coach there is a problem. There is no need for extra testing or anything like that.
My son goes to school half days. We homeschool math, language arts, technology, art, music, and religion at home in the morning. He goes to school for social studies, science, and PE in the afternoon. As long as you get the approval of the superintendent, this is allowed. I have only heard of the superintendent turning down students from other districts. Those who live in the district frequently take advantage of the a la carte system, especially for things like band and industrial ed.
From my understanding (this is from teachers, not administrators) the schools get more state money by having more students, and actually come benefit from having part-time students. They get the full amount of money, but only have a student there part time.
I am very excited that the VA gov is considering this bill! I believe it would be an excellent opportunity for my students to be able to participate in public school programs. In our area I was told I would have to enroll my son to have access to speech therapy. And the homeschool sports opportunities are extremely limited, even though there are lots of homeschoolers in our area.
To those to think ‘a la carte’ is a problem: Why is it that it’s ok for the public school student to use the programs offered ‘a la carte’?
It seems more than fair to me that homeschooled kids have just as much of a right to the programs as any other student. And it’s funny that people seem to disagree over whether homeschoolers are less educated (and therefore need testing to see if they are keeping up) or are going to do better than the other students and therefore it’s not fair to the public school kids who can’t keep up. Why should people be afraid that a student is going to be better than they are and so the one who is better should be not allowed to compete? That seems like poor sportsmanship. I know of many stories where the people who are best (like ice skating) spend hours at that sport and have a special education that allows for lots of time devoted to their sport. No one says child actors shouldn’t be allowed to be homeschooled so they can act. Not that I would have one of my kids spend 8 hours a day practicing a sport, but the argument that they could is faulty.
I have experience with homeschooling and public schooling, and I can’t say that one is better than the other. They both have advantages and disadvantages. However, regarding access to public schools, every child and family should have access, in whole or in part, IF they are willing to abide by ALL the rules and regulations established for participation in that school. There can’t be exceptions for any group of students. From my experience with homeschooling families, most are unwilling to abide by all the rules and regulations for access to the school.
I was homeschooled for 13 years and I taught in a Catholic school for 6 so I can see both sides of this issue. I’ll start with the negatives. Having homeschoolers come in for classes or sports does create some problems that struggling schools may be unable to handle. I remember one mother who wanted to use the school where I worked in this way and wasted countless hours of teacher and administrator time, all the while making it absolutely clear that our school was not good enough for her precious children (who often followed their primary educators’ example in how they treated us teachers). We felt used and abused. Another time I volunteered to do something for a homeschooling family and one parent told me outright, “I’ll use you for that.” When I worked with the children, it became clear that what the parent had said was not just a poor choice of words. Utilize my services, sure, but don’t use ME. Needless to say, I can understand why the local Christian school charges more for one course than full time enrollment!
That said, I think if reasonable parents and reasonable school administrators sit down together, they can draw up mutually beneficial policies. Many homeschooling parents are good parents who model a love of learning and respect for others to their children. I count it as a great privilege to have worked with some of these children. They work hard, respect adults, and their parents are happy to work with the teacher as well. In short, they are exactly the type of students or athletes that make teaching or coaching rewarding.
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