The Tyrone Area School Board voted earlier this week to revise its guidelines to allow home school students to participate in extracurricular activities.
In November of last year, Governor Ed Rendell signed a bill to allow home-school students to participate in such activities. A press release from the governor’s office noted 25,000 children are being home-schooled in Pennsylvania.
The decision at the local level was one the Tyrone Area School Board was bound to make or face legal challenges since allowing participation is now required by law as of Jan. 1.
The governor’s press release noted that more than 220 districts statewide of approximately 500 total districts in the state did not allow participation.
The press release said Senate bill 361 that the governor signed into law amends the Public School Code of 1949. As of Jan. 1, 2006, a school district of residence must permit a child enrolled in a home education program to participate in any extracurricular activities provided by that local district. The child must meet both eligibility and the activities’ try-out requirements. The child will also have to comply with the rules of the club or organization he or she chooses to join.
The release said interscholastic athletics and activities, which occur between schools within the district or between schools outside of the district, are also included the amendment. If the activity requires a physical exam or medical test, the district must post the information on their web site and circulate it in an area publication.
Tyrone Area School Board vice president James Crawford said the district’s guidelines now allow students engaged in home education to participate interscholastic or selected extracurricular activities. He added that the school board voted for the change because of the change in the laws at the state level.
The district is also working on policies regarding extracurricular activities for home education and charter/cyber charter students. He said the policies would be more complete that the revision to the guidelines the school board approved earlier this week.
Two school board members, Peter Dutrow and Brian Bressler, voted against the revision to the guidelines.
Dutrow said, “I was involved in athletics all my life. I feel very strongly about the student athlete. Our students have to be in school on the day they participate, our students have to be passing (and) teachers are evaluating them.”
He said there are many intangibles that would be difficult to evaluate for home school students who are allowed to participate.
“This was my way of objecting to what the legislators are shoving down our throat,” said Dutrow.
