The Georgia High School Association voted on Monday to prohibit home-school eligibility in sports and other GHSA-governed activities.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that a proposal to allow homeschool students to participate in GHSA activities failed in a 47-19 vote by the executive committee. The proposal would have allowed local boards of education to supervise the practices.
The GHSA operates under a Constitution and By-Laws which outlines the scope and purpose of the Association. Per the organization website, it “contains the standards of eligibility to be met by high school pupils for attaining the privilege of participation in interschool contests, and rules controlling the participation among schools. By adoption of the Constitution and By-Laws through its membership, member schools have by their initiative acted to operate and discipline their interscholastic activities and contests.” [See the most recent budget for GHSA here]
The organization offers ‘organization and administration’ for baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacross, riflery, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track, wrestling, cheerleading, fast pitch & slow pitch softball, volleyball, dramatic interpretation, essay, extemporaneous speaking, one act plays, quartet, spelling, trio, and vocal solo.
Thus, homeschoolers are prohibited from all of those GHSA activities.
The Georgia legislature failed to pass the ‘Tim Tebow Act’ which would have required high schools to allow home school students to play on school sports teams if they reside in the respective school district. The measure passed out of the Senate but failed to move in the House. It could still be taken up next year, however.
Passage of the Act in 2020 would supercede the rule put in place by GHSA. You can read that bill below.
SB 163
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has more information on the meeting decisions here.
sw
April 17, 2019 at 6:38 am
It’s clear that these teachers and administrators care far more about their jobs than about the kids in their district. Despite the virtue signalling they use to promote themselves as wonderful people, their “mission” to serve the public and educate the kids in their district clearly takes a back seat to their mission to use political powers to maximize their income by dismissing those who reject their services. If this isn’t a good enough reason to homeschool our kids, I don’t know what is. Why would you want to leave your kids with these people for 30 hours a week?
Christine Parris
April 19, 2019 at 5:50 pm
That’s a shame. Still playing politics with kids futures.
RW
April 20, 2019 at 12:12 pm
Does this mean that home school parents no longer have to pay taxes?
Billy James Lane
June 18, 2019 at 9:55 am
This is absurd. Why would you prohibit these students from participating in extracurricular activities? There’s no real reason than you just trying to make a point.
Doug
August 6, 2019 at 10:43 pm
I totally understand that there would be home school students that would get all there school work in in about half the time wasted in most class rooms and then the student would have time for a private lesson with personal coach or strength coach to become more than the average athlete that they will compete against ?
They are jealous, intimidated and insecure.
Georgia has always liked to hold kids back. They do not allow 8th graders to compete against high schoolers. Old farts that control
GHSA!!! Old closed minds.
Look at clubs like Throw 1 Deep and see what real coaching can do for any student that wants it. This club produces some of the best throwers in track and field here in Atalanta. The clubs are where the real action happens anyway. A5 volleyball is no different with high end coaching that flows through the school systems making public coaches look good!
Ha I know the truth and that most public coaches are lazy and are half …..
I have known and still know ones that live and breathe their sports but the passion is seldom seen.
Rod!
October 6, 2019 at 4:59 pm
Doug ..
You couldn’t be anymore correct! I agree 100%. Good Ol’ classic Georgia doing what they do best. This is non-otther than an abused capitalism at its utmost. This is really crazy and morally UNFAIR.
Although I shouldn’t have to relocate, I can say that I might just relocate for the sake my child’s future high school education.
Jed
February 29, 2020 at 11:44 am
Yes, they are circling their wagons. That’s what people do when they feel threatened, not that they don’t have good reason to fear. Due to the failure of the government schools, there are now 2.5 million kids being homeschooled in the USA, and that number is growing by 2-8% annually. https://www.nheri.org/research-facts-on-homeschooling/. So, they are taking their ball and going home?
Don’t sweat it. Organize your own athletics. You can do it better than they can anyway. In just a couple of weeks, the largest basketball tournament in the U.S. will occur in Springfield, Missouri. There will be over 1000 teams compete over the course of 6 days–and they are ALL homeschoolers. https://www.nchclive.com/. What began with a single sport has expanded to volleyball, soccer, track & field, and some programs even have football, lacrosse, cheerleading–you name it. This movement is not slowing. Expect the government schools to continue to react badly to the threat to their monopoly–at least in the short term. All that will do is push the homeschoolers to make their product better and better.
Baseball Mom
July 30, 2020 at 9:42 am
What about the Online Public School Students? My student attends a state school online that does not provide athletic opportunities.