House panel advances bill on school sports, home-schoolers

Soccer standout Patrick Foss has represented the United States throughout the world but is unable to play for his community school.

"Every Friday night I see the lights come on at my local high school and I wonder what it must be like to play in front of a hometown crowd," the 17-year-old home-schooled student from Loudoun County told lawmakers on Wednesday.

He was among a series of speakers who fed a passionate debate over a measure designed to ease access for home-schooled students to sports at public schools. The legislation cleared a key hurdle by securing the approval of the House Education Committee.

It now heads to the full House of Delegates with Gov. Bob McDonnell's backing.

Twenty-two states give home-schoolers some type of access to public school classes or sports, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association.

Opponents of the bill argue that it would create an unlevel playing field. Children who attend public schools are on similar schedules — rising early to catch the bus, meeting their academic requirements, practicing and running drills for the same amount of time.

Further, opponents said, playing on school teams is considered a privilege for students and, in some cases, the only thing that keeps a child motivated to succeed in school.

Del. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond, looking out over a committee room filled with home-schooled students and their families, said public school students would have attended the meeting to share their thoughts, too, but couldn't because it was a school day.

For some students, she said, missing too many days or too many classes can get them benched.

Under the bill, no public school could join an organization governing interscholastic programs that bars home-schooled students who have reported academic progress for two years, are under the age of 19, are amateurs who receive no compensation, and comply with disciplinary and other rules. A home-schooled student could only join programs at the school serving their residence's attendance zone.

The measure would end on June 30, 2017, so lawmakers can assess the results at that time.

The Virginia High School League, the governing body for high school athletics, has a series of eligibility requirements to play sports at a public school — including taking and passing five courses — and home-schooled students are not able to meet them all.

Supporters of the so-called Tim Tebow bill, nicknamed for the once home-schooled Denver Broncos quarterback, argue that they pay taxes that support the public schools but, for various reasons, choose to educate their child at home. The bill's sponsor, Del. Robert B. Bell, R-Albemarle, said the students just want a chance to try out.

In the past two years, Bell's bill was blocked in the House Education Committee, and last year, a special subcommittee was created to meet over the summer and consider the issue.

Richmond-area delegates who supported the bill include Dels. Jimmie Massie, R-Henrico; Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Henrico; and Roxann L. Robinson, R-Chesterfield. McClellan voted against it.

Robley Jones, with the Virginia Education Association asked rhetorically, "Would you vote to bar Virginia colleges from participating in NCAA and making it so that you don't have to go to U.Va. to represent U.Va. on the playing field?"

Foss, the soccer player from Loudoun, whose father is a TV producer for ESPN, told lawmakers he has made a verbal commitment to play soccer for the University of Virginia on a full athletic scholarship.

"One of the major reasons I chose U.Va. was the opportunity to represent my home, Virginia," he said, "the same state that has deemed it inappropriate for me to play for my neighborhood high school."