mycalling Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I just read this article (it's from way back in 2000). For those who live in a state that allows participation, is it truly a "public relations nightmare?" It states most homeschoolers are against homeschoolers being allowed to participate in public school athletics...so I figured I'd find out the popular opinion of the Hive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 In the state I'm from, our property taxes went to pay for things like sports, choir, etc. So...since we pay but don't use the school system, I think it's okay for us to sue the sports and extra-curricular stuff. My dd was in band before we moved here to Guatemala. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I posted no. However, I don't believe that sports should be the domain of schools. So, my preference would be that sports are run by the community and all can play them. Schools should be for education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I voted yes, they should be allowed, because like the state where Dayle is from, the majority of our property taxes go to fund the public schools, therefore all children should be able to participate in anything they have to offer. However, I'm not sure I would want mine to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 If I'm still paying the taxes that go towards the schools, then yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanna Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I couldn't decide btw. "yes" and "no.":blush: On the one hand, I agree that homeschoolers should be allowed to play on ps sports esp. since taxpayer dollars go to fund it even if you're not using it. On the other hand, I have to agree with the other poster who said sports should be a community thing and not a ps thing so that it's available to all in the community regardless of school affiliation. We use the town sports now, but as my children enter the high school yrs, sports will only be available through the ps. Ergo, I'll have to let you know what I decide then -- I can't cross that bridge till I get there. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Sherry Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I voted yes. My son did play Basketball at the local p.s. Junior High and High School, while being homeschooled. There were not any other homeschoolers on the teams he was on. Most choose not to participate in p.s. sports. However, it is a matter of trying out and doing well enough to make the team and I don't know if any other homeschoolers tried out. We happen to live in a state that allows homeschoolers to try out for sports in the p.s. system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We live in FL, where it is allowed, and I am happy happy happy about it. My DS11 loves sports, and excels at any sport. Community recreation leagues tend to peter out by middle school as children start to play for their school teams. By 8th or 9th grade, my DS will not have very many options for team sports, IF he were not allowed to play at schools. Yes, I know very few people make a living at sports, or even get college scholarships. But there are SOME who do. Tim Tebow, a Heisman trophy winner, who plays at University of Florida, will most likely, barring injury, go on to the NFL. He was homeschooled. Had he not lived in a state that allowed HS'ers to participate in public school sports, his talent may never have been discovered. I am not pinning my hopes and dreams for my son to be a professional athlete, I do hope that he can experience the fun, joy, and pleasure of participating in sports during his youth. I know that most adults do not have the leisure time available to participate in sports, so take advantage of it while you are young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 What states allow hsers to participate?:bigear: I voted yes, I think we should be able to pick and choose by high school. I'd like for my kids to be able to join clubs or take a class in high school without signing on for the whole thing. If you can do that at a community college those years, it should be allowed for high schools. We just learned of a homeschool football league the boys can be in through age 18...they are so excited because they know everything in the community ends when they turn 14. Sports are even more so an impact in their lives because they are homeschooled. For all the talk by govt of diversity being beneficial, you'd think they'd view inclusion of homeschoolers as something good for all kids involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Found 'em: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington state, and Wyoming. Vermont allows homeschoolers to participate in individual sports, like golf and tennis, but not in team sports.I didn't know there were so many. That's promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Yes. My sons are just as much a part of this community as those students who attend the junior and senior high schools for the academic portion of their education. Even when he wasn't in public school full time, my older son participated in wrestling and baseball at the junior high level. My younger son is part of the local elementary school orchestra and has been invited to join the honor orchestra even though he is homeschooled full time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 We aren't interested in sports (my kids are not athletes to say the least) but I wished we had access to band and orchestra in school. Before we moved, my girls were in PS and my oldest was in both band and orchestra and she misses it a lot. She took band at our co-op this fall but there were only 5 kids playing so that is not comparable to the full band experience she had last year. We are in Louisiana and as far as I know we cannot enroll part-time in PS or participate in sports or extra-curricular activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I wish our state allowed this. It's my ONE itty bitty concern with homeschooling our kids all the way through high school. All 3 of mine seem to be natural athletes (got that from their dad, not from me! LOL) and I worry sometimes that homeschooling them could inhibit their potential for future scholarship opportunities. :glare: I have heard that some local high schools allow homeschoolers on the swim team. Maybe it's allowed because there aren't too many swimmers in our area? I'm not sure and we're still a few years away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 It is incredibly easy to homeschool in Texas, but they do not allow participation in public school sports (or anything else, for that matter). If they were to allow it, I'm afraid it would open the door for interference in in other areas of homeschooling. No thanks. Texas has very strict "no pass-no play" rules. Do other states? I'm not sure how those requirements would be met if you're a homeschooler. As far as the tax money argument goes, I'm not sure that really flies. Sure, your taxes go to pay for the public school, but they don't actually get any money for your student if they don't attend the school. It could end up hurting the budget of the school if enough homeschoolers took advantage of PS classes and activities. Maybe some states offer partial funds to schools that take homeschoolers? We don't play sports, but my children do play stringed instruments. We will be looking for community orchestras to play with. There is also one music competition that is not tied to the schools, although all schools do participate in it. My children will compete in that beginning next year. I could see us approaching a private school about participation in orchestra, but we would pay for that ourselves, and it would not impact our homeschooling in any way. (Wow, I got really wordy.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thea Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 In OR (in my district) in order to participate in sports at the high school level your hs student has to take a standardized test every year to meet the academic requirements. State law only mandates testing for hs students in grades 3,5,8 and 10. My ds all most likely play soccer as the local rec league ends in 8th grade. He loves soccer. I'm glad he'll have the opportunity to play in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I posted no. However, I don't believe that sports should be the domain of schools. So, my preference would be that sports are run by the community and all can play them. Schools should be for education. :iagree: We live in a district that doesn't allow participation at all so right now I'm driving 30 minutes each way to a small Christian school so my son can play basketball and yes, they practice every day. We are very thankful that he can participate at this school but when I write my check for our real estate taxes which are mainly school taxes I get very annoyed. It seems that if the schools are going to be the center for sports (especially true during jr. high and high school) then participation should be open to all who live in the district but I would love, love, love for the sports organizations to be taken out of the schools and placed in the community's hands! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I voted yes. We lived in Florida and my boys participated in sports in the local ps. I would love to be able to do that here in NC without ambiguity. Right now, the local schools decide if a student can participate. My son has permission to run track for the local ps. There are bills in the General Assembly and Senate of NC to allow homeschool students to participate across the state. Here is a link with more information: http://nchomeschoolathletes.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I votes "YES" Sports are were so important to my dh and me. We both played 2 sports in HS and I played in College. I want my kids to be able to enjoy them like I did but we don't have the $$$ to pay for the homeschool sports in our area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamom3 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I have been told it depends on the school district. My kids have never been able to participate in PS sports. PS here don't want to have anything to do with homeschoolers. I would love to know what county actually allows homeschoolers on their sports team! By the way, I voted yes. We pay enough in taxes that we should be able to utilize what ever the school system offers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I think it depends. In our state, each school receives money based on the students enrolled (actually, they get money for each student present per day). Even though I pay taxes, the local school gets no money from me or for my children. It would be an extra expense to include children on the teams (insurance, uniforms, etc...). There is also an issue with the high school sports association. The local school got in trouble for having a student on a team who was enrolled in the school but was taking advanced classes at a local college. The association said she was not enrolled full time so the team would be disqualified for the season. She had to drop the team, since she didn't want to drop her classes. There is also the GPA issue. Most schools have a GPA requirement for the athletes. A homeschool student doesn't have a GPA from the school (the school can't just trust the one the parent gives, without some sort of objective test). Allowing a homeschool student to play could be considered a breech of the GPA requirement. It isn't always as easy as the school willing to cooperate. Some schools would like to, but their hands are tied by other legal issues or requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I think it depends. In our state, each school receives money based on the students enrolled (actually, they get money for each student present per day). Even though I pay taxes, the local school gets no money from me or for my children. It would be an extra expense to include children on the teams (insurance, uniforms, etc...). May I be REALLY nit-picky right now? I can't comment on insurance but as for uniforms, we are not asking for extra people to be on the team, just a chance to try out for the team (no extra uniforms needed)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 May I be REALLY nit-picky right now? I can't comment on insurance but as for uniforms, we are not asking for extra people to be on the team, just a chance to try out for the team (no extra uniforms needed)... yes, but.... Our school (all of the schools in our area) run on a very bare-bones budget. You need a uniform for each kid, and if they are not getting money for your kid, it does affect them. Yes, they had the money budgeted for the uniforms, and it seems like it should be there. But I know what our local schools are like (there have been times when kids were asked to bring in toilet paper :001_huh:). The expense would really be hard on them. And the insurance is a huge issue. It only covers kids enrolled in the school. I'm not against homeschooled kids playing in ps sports, which is why I voted other. I just know that it can be more complex then the school just not wanting to allow homeschooled kids. Each state is different, each district is different. The laws and requirements in some states may make it easier to have homeschooled children on the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 My hser is in her third year of track/cross country at the local high school. They've been great. There are a few hsers doing this. They can also take some classes, but with permission. Usually lab or art classes-- programs that are not easily replicated outside a particular set-up. We're considering asking if she can take AP Chemistry. I don't see a 'failing system' in out town. I see a pretty vibrant high school community which is struggling financially. The art, music, theater programs are lovely and the people extremely helpful. The AP Chemistry teacher has a PhD. One of the history teachers has an education degree, but also an undergraduate degree in history from Harvard. Very dedicated people. (Sure there are slackers, but that's true in any field). I wish we could pick and choose what we wanted more easily. My dd wouldn't mind going in for a couple of hours, but she doesn't want to be stuck there all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 yes, but.... Our school (all of the schools in our area) run on a very bare-bones budget. You need a uniform for each kid, and if they are not getting money for your kid, it does affect them. I don't know anything about the insurance issues, but I am curious how other school districts deal with uniforms. Do students get a new uniform with each sport? My son's wrestling and baseball teams at the junior high were still wearing uniforms from the early 90s. Shoes, hats, gloves and such are the responsibility of the athlete. The student is also responsible for returning the uniform in excellent condition (clean and mended if necessary) or they incur a fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy1k Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Yeah, my son's school recycles uniforms from year to year. Anything that can't be used again (socks even), we have to purchase. Oh and they don't provide insurance for anybody. If you can't provide insurance (they do offer a inexpensive plan you can purchase), your kid can't play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 In OR (in my district) in order to participate in sports at the high school level your hs student has to take a standardized test every year to meet the academic requirements. State law only mandates testing for hs students in grades 3,5,8 and 10.Now this makes sense. In NC, we do test every year, but I think having to test to meet ps academic requirements is realistic, even in states with no hs mandated testing. It only effects those who want to play, not all homeschoolers...which is why I disagree with those afraid of it causing increased interferance to all of us. There are bills in the General Assembly and Senate of NC to allow homeschool students to participate across the state. :001_smile: Thanks for posting this! I read the NC bill and it addresses fees and costs many posters were worried about burdening the public school with. It states the homeschooler would be responsible for those...completely realistic! I really don't see how difficult this would be nor how it would add headaches to all homeschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 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. Here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I have to disagree with the list of states posted. I know here in CA, one can not homeschool and enroll in a public school for any reason. As to the original ?, I don't know. My taxes do pay for schools, but I'm just not sure. Should my taxes pay for sports in a school setting to begin with? I don't know. I do think that it is unfair that those resources are only available to public schooled students for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 If I'm still paying the taxes that go towards the schools, then yes. :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 I have to disagree with the list of states posted. I know here in CA, one can not homeschool and enroll in a public school for any reason. Your right and I thought that was odd since we were registered as a private school in CA. Here's HSLDA's list with specifics pertaining to participation. There are 12 states with legislation being proposed, including Texas and NC. Not all are without strings, but those strings do not effect homeschoolers uninterested in ps sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Re: taxes... Our local community college has a public library. The library is public, because ALL citizens that pay taxes are paying for that library. The cc is open to all tax paying residents in our county (once you're paying taxes they have to let you take classes, you might not get credits, but you CAN take the class). I find it interesting that the community college operates this way, but the public schools do not. After all, the communities taxes DO pay for the schools. However, ds can't use the school library now that we hs. Legally, in VA, he can take a few classes, but I haven't broached the superintendant about it and don't plan to. As for uniforms, etc... most of the funds for that stuff (at least around here) come from fundraisers. The school pays the coach and they 'let' the kids use the equipment (same stuff they use in PE), but the shoes and any new equipment or uniforms are left up to the teams to raise money for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I posted no. However, I don't believe that sports should be the domain of schools. So, my preference would be that sports are run by the community and all can play them. Schools should be for education. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I am paying taxes and I feel my children should be able to participate. Up until high school the sports are run through the town. I believe in my State it is up to the principal if homeschoolers can participate, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I don't know anything about the insurance issues, but I am curious how other school districts deal with uniforms. Do students get a new uniform with each sport?My son's wrestling and baseball teams at the junior high were still wearing uniforms from the early 90s. Shoes, hats, gloves and such are the responsibility of the athlete. The student is also responsible for returning the uniform in excellent condition (clean and mended if necessary) or they incur a fine. All students in our district pay $100 per sport and music program, with a family max cap. The uniforms are returned at the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.