Sports
Access Legislation for Homeschool Students
March 24,
2006 - Two bills, HB
4684 in the House and SB
708 in the Senate, introduced in the Legislature to allow homeschool
students to play on public school sports teams, are “dead.” These bills were
virtually identical in intention and language. Neither bill was put on the
education committees’ agenda, so the full legislature never had a chance to
vote on these bills.
These
bills were drafted by a group of determined homeschool families with the help
of members of WVHEA’s Legislative Committee. Home School Legal Defense
Association’s Scott Woodruff was consulted during the drafting process, and he recommended
changes that the drafters incorporated into the bill. One of the bill drafters,
Randy Skaggs (Greenbrier County), believed that his delegate, House Education
Committee Chair Tom Campbell, was supportive of sports access legislation and
would work to get the bill passed, so the bill draft was sent to Del. Campbell,
who then handed it off to the House Education Committee staff. When the bill
finally emerged from Legislative Services, House Education Committee Vice-Chair
Larry Williams (D – Preston) – not Tom Campbell – was the bill’s sponsor. Del.
Williams submitted the bill “by request”, which is code in the legislature for “I
do not support this bill and am only submitting it to pacify a constituent.” (Del.
Brady Paxton, [D-Putnam] also sponsored the bill.) Bills submitted “by request”
are not put on a committee’s agenda since even their sponsors do not support
them.
When it
became clear that the House bill would not be considered, Daniel Jones
(Mannington) asked his senator, Mike Oliverio (D-2nd District), to
sponsor the bill in the Senate. Sen. Oliverio rushed to introduce a Senate
version of the bill with the bi-partisan support of eleven sponsors. But despite
this strong backing, the bill was not placed on the Senate Education Committee’s
agenda.
Families involved in the effort were disheartened by the legislative leadership’s unwillingness to formally consider the bills or the issue. Meanwhile, prompted by calls, emails and letters from homeschool families and others sympathetic to the cause, many delegates and senators expressed support for the issue. At least one delegate believed that the bill would have passed if it had made it to the House floor.
All
reports indicate that the usual array of opponents aligned together against the
bills – the teachers’ unions, the WV Secondary Schools Activities Commission,
the principals’ association, the school boards’ association and the WV Board of
Education. That powerful coalition, in addition to election year politics and
active opposition from West Virginia Values Coalition lobbyist John Carey, combined
to doom the bills.
Mr.
Carey said that homeschoolers have opted out of the system and that the sports
access bill(s) threatened homeschool freedoms. In a West Virginia Values
Coalition newsletter, he wrote, “some [delegates]…did communicate support
[for sports access], but also expressed a willingness to create changes in
the law that would lead to more regulation of home schooling families.” He continued, “[I]f home schoolers
want to become part of the public school system then, [sic] they can
expect to see more regulations for all home school families, not just those who
want to play sports.” Mr. Carey did not offer any explanation for
this statement.
During a meeting with homeschoolers and others about the issue on February 28, the WV Department of Education representatives explained that “membership” in a public school was necessary in order to participate in sports and that sports participation is a privilege, funded by enrollment. House Education Committee Chair Tom Campbell indicated that State Superintendent Paine had expressed a willingness to study the issue of sports access for homeschoolers. Representatives of both statewide homeschool organizations (WVHEA and Christian Home Educators of West Virginia) have been invited to attend a meeting with the state superintendent at the end of March to discuss the sports access issue and other issues of interest to homeschoolers.
If you are interested in helping homeschool students gain access to interscholastic sports, contact Daniel Jones of Mannington.
State Supreme Court Reverses Itself — Will Hear
Appeal in Jones Case - August, 2004 -- Homeschoolers interested in
playing school sports had a bit of a rollercoaster ride as spring turned to
summer, courtesy of the West Virginia State Supreme Court. At the end of May,
the State Supreme Court unanimously rejected an appeal by the WV Secondary
School Activities Commission (SSAC) and the State Board of Education to
overturn Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom's decision in the Jones case.
Judge Bloom ruled in September 2003 that current regulations prohibiting
homeschooler participation in school sports violated State law as well as the
state’s Constitution. Click here to
read article.
WV Supreme Court
decision in the Jones case appeal (2005)
Justice Starcher’s
dissent (2005)
Justice
Benjamin’s dissent (2005)
Kanawha County Circuit Court
Judge Bloom’s decision in the Jones case (2003)
State
Superintendent interpretation RE: athletes entering school from homeschool
situation
In 1980,
WV's Attorney General determined that extracurricular activities are an element
of the education process.
In 1999 the State Supreme Court of Appeals noted:
"all the participants in the educational endeavors of our state are
involved in a complementary effort to further the goal that every one of our
state's children--whether in parochial, private, public, home-based, or other
educational programs--has access to the richest possible menu of educational
and developmental experiences.”
WVHEA's role in any legislative effort depends on
several factors. As a registered (501c-3) nonprofit organization, it is
prohibited from using more than a small percentage of its resources in
"lobbying." In addition, WVHEA's constitution does not include
lobbying the legislature as part of its mission. Rather, its purposes
include monitoring the government with respect to home education issues,
engaging in non-partisan research and analysis of issues affecting home
education, and reviewing and disseminating information vital to home
educators. WVHEA and its legislative committee base their activity on these
principles and try to assist members who wish to pursue legislative
activity as individual citizens. WVHEA can help by identifying people
interested in this issue, helping them network with each other, and sharing
our legislative experience with them so that they can accomplish their
goals.