Students allowed to play at other schools.

If they're home schooled, they have no business playing sports or after school activities at any public school.

Zomby - Please elaborate.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
If they're home schooled, they have no business playing sports or after school activities at any public school.

Ouch!

I disagree... their parents still pay taxes to support the public school system. Some of them feel they have no choice but to homeschool based on their kids' specific educational needs and the school's refusal to meet them halfway.

We will agree to disagree on this. If you kids go to school in the day, why should it be different after school?

I'm with zombywoof on this. You want to play sports, be in the band, participate in school plays, attend prom or walk through graduation then you need to be a student at this school. I understand taxes are paid by all to provide education but if you choose to not send your kid to a school then you forfeit the right for them to participate at activities at the school. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I've been teaching a long time and I have no doubt in my mind that some kids being home schooled are getting a better education than what I can provide but my experience is that every single kid, with the exception of one, who was homeschooled has no freaking clue as to what in the world is going on in terms of education when the decided to enroll at a high school. Please don't start telling me all the wonderful stories of what YOU did with your child at home - I believe you. I'm just saying that the every single kid that I've taught who had some sort of homeschooling was completely lost educationally when I got them except for one. In all my time teaching I've probably taught around 10 kids who were homeschooled.

A family is basically saying "Your school isn't good enough for my child so we won't be going there but it is good enough athletically". That is a slap in the face to the school and then the school has to bend over backwards to accomodate them for sports.

We talk about commitment and ownership but how does this accomplish it? It's - in my opinion - only going to create more self - centered kids.

This is going to be a terrible decision.

quote:

Originally posted by LHPMom2012:
I disagree... their parents still pay taxes to support the public school system. Some of them feel they have no choice but to homeschool based on their kids' specific educational needs and the school's refusal to meet them halfway.

I agree with this when there are medical or other reasons for homeschooling the child. The public system failed them and they shouldn't be penalized again by not being able to play a sport. But often times kids are homescooled because the parent merely wants to teach their child themselves (for whatever reason).

If you allow a homeschooled student to do this, how can you not also allow a public school student the opportunity to play a sport not offered at their school at another school. And then if you allow that, how can you penalize a private school student by not allowing them to play a sport at a publically funded school?

And what happens later on when at a private college without a baseball team, a student now wants to play at the publically funded university down the street? Sure it's a long shot(player would have to be a walkon) but if he was a stud it could be an issue.

It's going to open a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened. You will start seeing more and more people crying foul because this isn't offered here but is here. We're trying to create a buffet line for education and while on the surface it looks good but you get into the actual nuts and bolts of it then you are going to create a mess.

If my public school kid isn't at school on game day, he can't play. If he doesn't make his grades, he can't play. Why should someone else's kid who is homeschooled get off the hook because my son's school isn't good enough to educate him (in their eyes). Or they don't want their kid around kids who don't share the same values. Or whatever it is that makes them decide to opt out of the system. If you opt out, opt out.

Leftysidearmmom, that's kinda the way it works here. Home-schooled kids can play sports at their local public school. I don't know of many, but it's happened.

Also, private school kids can play at their local public school, if the private school doesn't offer that sport. Lacrosse, wrestling, field hockey... they were sports most private grade schools didn't have, until recently.

Then, there's the whole CYO thing. Sports are fifth through eighth grades. As long as you belong to the church, you can play for the church's school. Some churches (parishes) don't offer every sport, so they consolidate into one team, drawing players from three or four parishes, public and private schools. The results are some real powerhouses in a few sports, football, especially. Many kids choose CYO sports over sports at their own school.

The CYO doesn't belong to the state athletic association, but the Philadelphia Catholic League (high schools) joined a few years ago.

I think in the instance of one public school not having a program and another one having a program it's a good thing. An example, my son plays baseball and my daughter is a swimmer. Both will be in high school next year and as a coincidence we're moving to NC this summer. There are few high schools that offer both. So if I live in a district that has baseball and not swimming I think it's great that my daughter will still be able to swim at the high school level with a nearby school. Sure she will lose some of the intangibles that come with representing her school and her community but, it opens several opportunities for education and athletics that previously would not be available.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
It's going to open a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened. You will start seeing more and more people crying foul because this isn't offered here but is here. We're trying to create a buffet line for education and while on the surface it looks good but you get into the actual nuts and bolts of it then you are going to create a mess.

Exactly. And that mess translates into millions of dollars in lawsuits trying to settle this stuff out because everybody will have a million reasons to justify their kid being home schooled but can go to school when it's time to play sports.

While I do understand the need to home school such as medical reasons, I don't see how somebody who opts to home school a perfectly healthy abled mind and body kid who can all of a sudden go to school to play sports but not go to school.

And if they're home-schooled for medical reasons, it's hard to justify how they would be medically cleared playing a competitive sport in the first place.

I am with Zomby and 2709 on this.

I have heard that in Colorado the home school kids can and do play for the public school teams? any Centennial staters out there that can verify or did i hear that wrong.

quote:

While I do understand the need to home school such as medical reasons, I don't see how somebody who opts to home school a perfectly healthy abled mind and body kid who can all of a sudden go to school to play sports but not go to school.

Is not a learning disability, which requires one on one teaching, also a medical issue. It is conceivable that a kid with a severe learning disability could play competitive sports.

Pennsylvania allows home schooled kids to play sports at the school they would have attended. The only instance I'm aware of in our district is a kid on the middle school baseball team. He didn't fit in socially. Then again, he didn't fit in socially in LL either. He wasn't a starter. He didn't make the freshman team. His parents sent him to a Class A (smallest schools) Christian school so he could play baseball.

I think I saw that Tim Tebow was "home schooled" in a little trailer near the super-duper high school he could qb and get famous....

wow, isn't that dandy! Work around the rules by day and save sinners by night! and I'm a Bronco fan so Go Tim... but let's face it, that deal stunk to high heaven if you want to keep scholastic sports with any shred of decency

Correction: Tim and his mom moved into an apt. so he could qb a good team in high school

This is allowed in FL right now. I'm positive about homeschooled kids (they can play sports at a school for which they are zoned), and fairly sure about private school kids, although the private schools here in g'ville all have as many sports as the public schools.

I certainly understand what folks are saying here, but it really affects so few students that it's not that big a deal except in principle.

I'm not a big Tebow fan, but I would wager a good sum that the only people bothered by him playing QB at Nease were the backup QBs and their parents.

quote:

Originally posted by 2Bmom:
I certainly understand what folks are saying here, but it really affects so few students that it's not that big a deal except in principle.

I haven't seen any Amish hockey players, yet.

quote:

Originally posted by AntzDad:

quote:

Originally posted by 2Bmom:
I certainly understand what folks are saying here, but it really affects so few students that it's not that big a deal except in principle.

I haven't seen any Amish hockey players, yet.

They're against the violence.

quote:

Originally posted by LHPMom2012:
I disagree... their parents still pay taxes to support the public school system. Some of them feel they have no choice but to homeschool based on their kids' specific educational needs and the school's refusal to meet them halfway.

I agree with you.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
We will agree to disagree on this. If you kids go to school in the day, why should it be different after school?

Simple, because you can have much more control over influences on your child at a singular sporting event than you can throughout the entire school day. Parents that home school are not only paying taxes for school, but they are helping to subsidize other students in that there is one more seat and one less student for a teacher to split their time among.
So why shouldn't a parent who wants to prevent their kid being forced to read "Johnny Has Two Fathers" and other politically correct brainwashing not be able to have their child participate in organized sports?

quote:

Originally posted by Vector:
So why shouldn't a parent who wants to prevent their kid being forced to read "Johnny Has Two Fathers" and other politically correct brainwashing not be able to have their child participate in organized sports?

won't Johnny's two dads be at the games?

quote:

So why shouldn't a parent who wants to prevent their kid being forced to read "Johnny Has Two Fathers" and other politically correct brainwashing not be able to have their child participate in organized sports?

Because they don't want to send their kids to school like everybody else and get around the system. I'm sure there's a whole lot more than the few who don't send their kids to school that don't agree with all the things kids are or the way their kid is taught in school but they go to school because that's where they belong.

quote:

won't Johnny's two dads be at the games?

Good one!

WE have the same GA topic under discussion in VA. I support parents who make the choice to home school for whatever the reason (and as the parent of a special needs child - the schools can be made to met the needs). BUT - if you opt out of pubic education for whatever reason...you opt out of ALL of it - not just the parts you dislike. The taxes argument does not carry alot of weight with me either. I pay taxes in the county I live in and NEVER reap benefit of various elements of county services i.e. the library or parks.

If you opt out, then you opt our of the good (sports), bad (crowded classes) and the ugly (violence - in some cases.

But you can go to the library or park if you choose.

What happens if the home school kid is absolutely terrible and gets cut then the parents sue the school, team, coach and the local pizza vendor for discriminating their son because he's home schooled?

What if this kid has nothing wrong with him - he's physically fine, emotionally fine, mentally fine - but he has absolutely no idea how to interact with other kids because he has never been around them? Without trying to be rude but this kid will be the weird kid nobody wants to be around - how is that fair to do that to him?

Yesterday a guy I know very well who coaches near one of my old schools that I coached told me a story. He said a mom is mad at him because a senior will not give her son a fistbump when they come off the field. Now this son isn't some scrub who sits the bench - he's a starter and pretty good. These are the type of parents coming through the system now. So we want to add to the problem by now having kids who don't know how to interact with others?

More times than naught (and no I can't back this up with facts but more experience) homeschooled kids tend to struggle socially once they actually have to enter the real world.

2Bmom I will agree that right now it's not that many kids this new rule will affect but what this new rule does is make the slippery slope a little steeper.

To be more specific I'm against the home school kids getting play. I'm more open minded with the able to play somewhere else if not offered but that can get tricky too if not watched closely.

quote:

Originally posted by Leftysidearmom:

won't Johnny's two dads be at the games?

Maybe, but lets hope they were not making specticles of themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:

Because they don't want to send their kids to school like everybody else and get around the system.

Maybe they don't, by why not commend their efforts for dedicating the time and effort to help raise their kids in the best way they are able to, rather than assuming they are getting one over on the system?

If they were not paying into the system then I think that might be a more valid way to see it. However if they are paying for school with their hard earned dollars like the rest of us, then they should at least be able to reap some benefit.
Some parents want to totally isolate their kids from society, and personally I think they are doing a disservice to their kids. Still it is their right to raise them how they see fit, and if they feel a competitive sport will help to round them out, I say what is the harm.

Down here home school children already have the option of playing sports, and I know of at least two families who do it. It is not for me, but it is really none of my business how they raise their kids.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
I'm more open minded with the able to play somewhere else if not offered but that can get tricky too if not watched closely.

Homeschooled kids aside, what about public school kids playing at another public school? We have a HS here that doesn't have a JV baseball team. Can a student now go over to another school and play JV? What does that do to both Varsity teams?

quote:

Originally posted by vtmom:
But you can go to the library or park if you choose.

Exactly right.

You may never need to call the police or fire department, but your taxes give you the benefit of using those services if needed.

So to those who say parents of home schoolers must completely opt out of everything if they choose to opt out of the classroom education portion, then let them opt out of paying for a public school education.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
If they're home schooled, they have no business playing sports or after school activities at any public school.

Courts in most states have ruled that all students, even the home schooled or those attending private schools, are entitled to any offering, academic, extra-curricular, whatever, available at the public school in the boundaries they live. Their parents pay the same in taxes as any parent does.

I believe a federal court as ruled similarly.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
What happens if the home school kid is absolutely terrible and gets cut then the parents sue the school, team, coach and the local pizza vendor for discriminating their son because he's home schooled?

No. The courts have ruled that homeschooled kids or kids from private schools that try out for activities at their local public school must follow the same rules as the pubic school kids, including trying out,and accetp the results.

The kids who pay for public school but attend elsewhere are to be treated no differently in any way than the kids who pay and do attend.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
...but they go to school because that's where they belong.

Okay, I'm not going to get into this debate any further than to say that is the single dumbest thing I've ever seen written on this site.

Count me in the all or nothing crowd. If homeschooled kids want to play an organized sport, then their parents can organize their own team of other homeschooled kids.

To me this is really simple. Anyone who pays taxes and contributes to the system is entitled to use the public system. Everyone here that thinks otherwise has the choice if they don't like it to send your kids to private school.

quote:

Originally posted by Leftysidearmom:

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
I'm more open minded with the able to play somewhere else if not offered but that can get tricky too if not watched closely.

Homeschooled kids aside, what about public school kids playing at another public school? We have a HS here that doesn't have a JV baseball team. Can a student now go over to another school and play JV? What does that do to both Varsity teams?

Not an expert on the school switching rules or anything but IMO since JV is not a sport in and of itself but instead a sub level of the Varsity program then no, if JV was offered at one school and not another it wouldn't matter. All in all they both offer baseball.

This could get very ugly

Saying a home schooled kid that doesn't use the public education system can't play sports IMO would be like saying all the kids that use the public education system HAVE to play sports. If the home schooled kids have to be "all in" then shouldn't the publicly educated student have to be "all in as well"

Personally I couldn't care less if my boys team was made up of entirely home schooled kids. Then again his rec team of 10 players has 4 home schooled kids on it and if it wasn't a small town no one would know. I think the large percentage of students not participating in anything is a much bigger issue than the very few home schooled kids playing sports.

I pay taxes as well so why do I have to accept this? I feel as a taxpayer it's the wrong way to spend this money. So why is that wrong?

The biggest issue is how do you enforce any standards? Or better yet what will the standards be when it comes to eligibility? How do you keep in check a parent who has a son that's won't do work in the classroom and is ineligible (or on the way to being ineligible) and all of a sudden is now homeschooled? Like I said before the kids that I have taught that came from a homeschool environment do not have the social skills nor the knowledge to at least have the minimal competencty of the rest of the kids in class.

At one point when they created welfare it was basically a crutch to help those who needed it temporarily but sadly now it's become a way of life for some. It has created an endless cycle of dependency. Most things start out as a good idea or have good intentions but there will always be someone who will work to find a way to manipulate the system to take advantage of it.

This will end horribly for high school sports and probably all extracurricular activities.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
The biggest issue is how do you enforce any standards? Or better yet what will the standards be when it comes to eligibility? How do you keep in check a parent who has a son that's won't do work in the classroom and is ineligible (or on the way to being ineligible) and all of a sudden is now homeschooled?

I would say they would enforce it the same way states do that have had these rules for years. Last I checked the state of Florida's HS sports programs haven't imploded.