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With the introduction of Senate Bill 491 and the House version, HB 547, home-schooled children may soon be able to participate in University Interscholastic League (UIL) extracurricular programs through their local public school.
Currently, UIL prohibits home-schooled children from taking part in public school programs such as football, basketball, baseball, chess club and other such activities, Education Daily Wire reported.
Alycia Ure, an area homeschooling parent of four sons ages 3 to 20, supports the bill and said many people misunderstand its intentions.
"They feel the state will use it as a way to dictate to them. It’s actually the other way around and only those wishing to participate are tested. I would also think coaches would like to have more potential athletes compete," Ure told Houston Daily.
Ure said that she has always brought her children home to be home-schooled during certain years, but sports at the school level have always been best for her children to participate in.
"There are always certain years I bring my boys home. Sometimes public isn’t the best fit and other times, it is. Sports at the school level have ended up being the best balance for my children as it local and not extremely expensive like private leagues. It’s unfortunate we lose out on those off years," she said.
Ure said one of the biggest issues she has faced is finding good homeschooling extracurricular activities that are closer to home, and it is not fair to for her children to have to choose between being homeschooled, or being able to participate in outside activities.
"Real good homeschool extracurricular activities are hard to find, usually very expensive or too far away. The schools have a great built-in system when it comes to sports," Ure said. "It offers more choice. If homeschoolers don’t wish to participate, nothing changes. Learning opportunities are changing. I have one son who is an incredible athlete but prefers working independently at home. It’s a shame he has to choose between sports and his ideal learning environment. Education takes priority over sports in our home. Texas is behind the curve in this regard. My experience observing other family members where sports is available to homeschoolers show only positives."
According to Education Daily Wire, the Texas Home School Coalition believes these children deserve to participate in UIL programs and indicates that approximately 22% to 32% of home-school families reside in rural areas and extracurricular options are non-existent or very limited.
Home-schooling has increased from 5% to 10% from 2019 to 2020, a Gallup poll found. A survey of Texas home-school families showed that access to extracurricular activities was the most important item prioritized by respondents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau report, by fall of 2020 more than one in 10 households with school-aged kids in the U.S. and in Texas reported home schooling.
A Texas Homeschool fact sheet also states that equal access to public school extracurricular activities helps the nearly 50% of homeschool students who would be categorized as coming from low-income households, according to NCES data.
Currently, 35 other states have bills like the UIL bill that allows home-school children to participate in public school extra-curricular programs.
HB 547 has passed out of the House Public Education Committee and will move forward for further consideration.
In a previous interview, the bill's author Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls) told the Nortex Times HB 547 is important because it "ends discrimination against home-school students by giving them access to their tax-funded extracurricular activities in their local school district. It also gives additional options to students to more fully form their education, regardless of where they live or how much money their parents have."
He went on to say that while "some home-school parents have chosen to organize and enroll their children in private athletic leagues or other creative outlets, the prohibition against home-school student participation in UIL activities effectively eliminates extracurricular opportunities for home-school families of limited economic means or in rural areas that cannot support these private activities."