LITTLE ROCK, AR — The Arkansas House overwhelmingly passed legislation allowing home schooled students to play high school sports.
The bill, which includes all extracurricular activities, sailed through with a vote of 80 to 1.
Home schooled students will have to attend one class per day at their local public school before they will be allowed to try out for teams or other activities.
“The home school students want to be a part of their community, they don’t want to be separitists,” Rep. Mark Lowery says. “They just for various reasons, their parents or the child has decided to be educated at home, but yet they still want to be a part of what’s going on at their local school. This will allow them to do that.”
The Arkansas Activities Association passed a rule last summer giving schools the option to allow home schooled students to participate, but the legislature took action after many superintendents said they would not implement the rule.
The bill, which includes all extracurricular activities, sailed through with a vote of 80 to 1.
Home schooled students will have to attend one class per day at their local public school before they will be allowed to try out for teams or other activities.
“The home school students want to be a part of their community, they don’t want to be separitists,” Rep. Mark Lowery says. “They just for various reasons, their parents or the child has decided to be educated at home, but yet they still want to be a part of what’s going on at their local school. This will allow them to do that.”
The Arkansas Activities Association passed a rule last summer giving schools the option to allow home schooled students to participate, but the legislature took action after many superintendents said they would not implement the rule.
