The next Tim Tebow could be somewhere in Virginia. But under current laws that next great NFL quarterback could go undiscovered — or so say Virginia Republicans.
The House of Delegates is set to vote on legislation as early as Wednesday that would allow home schooled children to participate in sports and other interscholastic programs provided at public schools. The House gave the measure preliminary approval Tuesday.
Called the “Tebow bill” after the professional quarterback who was taught at home but played sports at a public school, the measure would force public schools to allow home-schooled students to try out for their sports team. Schools that refuse would be barred from participating in organized sports leagues.
The bill would also allow students to participate in activities like debate clubs and the scholastic bowl.
The student must reside in the school district, be under the age of 19 and meet certain academic benchmarks for two years before joining a team.
The bill would allow schools to charge home-schooled student a fee to cover participation costs. The law would expire after five years unless lawmakers renew it.
Still, school administrators, principals and teachers oppose the legislation, insisting it creates an uneven playing field between students in a classroom all day and those taught at home with less stringent guidelines.
A growing number of Virginia parents are pulling their kids from local school systems to teach them at home. There were 16,542 home-schooled children in the state in 2003, according to the Virginia Department of Education, and there are now nearly 25,000.
Excluding home-schooled students from athletic program perpetuates the stigma that they are different than their public school counterparts, proponents say.
“Nobody is asking for a quota,” said Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, and the bill’s chief patron. “No one is asking for reserved positions. All they’re asking for is a chance to try out.”
Gov. Bob McDonnell‘s office said Tuesday he supports the legislation and would sign it. But not all Republicans are on board, a signal the bill could face a difficult road ahead. The 40-member Senate is evenly divided so just one GOP opponent could kill it.
Opponents argue that parents made a choice to withdraw their children from public schools and should have to live with the consequences.
“Our philosophy ought to be you’re either a high school public school student or a middle school public school student or you’re not,” said Del. Bob Tata, R-Virginia Beach. “If not, you should not be allowed to participate.”
