Setback for homeschoolers

If Tim Tebow had been homeschooled in North Carolina, he might not have gone on to win the Heisman Trophy.

At their latest meeting, Orange County Board of Education members approved the first draft of a policy that bars homeschooled students from participating in extracurricular activities. The policy will be revisited at the board’s Sept. 20 meeting.

Denise Morton, the district’s chief academic officer, said the change follows several years of calls from parents of homeschooled students that have been met with ambiguity.

“We really needed to provide the principals some guidance,” said Morton, who explained that parents often called the schools directly instead of district officials.

After meeting with Superintendent Patrick Rhodes and other district leadership officials in the spring, Morton said she contacted Kathy Boyd of the North Carolina School Board Association for help analyzing the policy.

“She did some homework for us and sent samples of policies across the state,” Morton said.

Boyd, a senior staff attorney for the association, said she sampled state school districts that addressed extracurricular participation by non-public school students, finding five with policies.

“Typically schools don’t address issues like this in their policy until an issue comes up,” Boyd said.

Board members voted unanimously to approve the first draft of the policy. No advocates of home education were present at the meeting.

Board member Brenda Stephens said this isn’t the first time the issue has come to the table, and the lack of policy needed addressing.

“I’ve always been of the notion that if you’ve chosen not to be a part of our classroom and of our district, then let’s not use it as a buffet to pick and choose what you want,” she said.

“I believe all the students need a well-rounded experience, and in order to get that you would need to be a part of our school district.

“Homeschooling is fine,” she said, “but it’s not broad.”

School board member Anne Medenblik voted to approve the policy draft but said she can understand the side of parents who homeschool.

“I’m kind of like, ‘Look, these folks do pay taxes,’” she said. “I’m kind of open to it because most of the time there aren’t that many kids.”

Medenblik said parents who homeschool across the nation are banding together to lobby for “Tim Tebow laws,” which ask legislatures to allow their children to participate in extracurricular activities.

Tebow, who is now a quarterback for the Denver Broncos, was homeschooled in Florida.

Florida law allows homeschooled students to take part in sports and interscholastic activities. Tebow played football at Nease High School in the St. Johns County school district.

Kristin Bozeman, district program specialist for virtual and home education, said most schools are happy to accommodate homeschooled students.

“I don’t think that most parents get into homeschooling because they’re dissatisfied with the districts,” Bozeman said. “They just want something different for their children—not necessarily better, just different.”

Spencer Mason, president of North Carolinians for Home Education, said the state high school athletics association limits extracurricular involvement of homeschooled students.

Mason said the organization is developing its own state sports conference to work around the athletic association’s rules.

“In order for us to participate, we would have to meet all the regulations that they impose on student athletes that are in public schools,” he said.

“We don’t want to do that, quite frankly.”

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