Patrick Foss is a top teenage soccer player who plans to graduate a semester early and enter the University of Virginia next January. His neighbor is a point guard on the local public high school basketball team in northern Virginia.
Next fall, Patrick, 17, would like to try out as a kicker on the football team at Freedom High School in South Riding, Va., but he is home-schooled and thus ineligible.
“My parents pay the same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports,” he said. “I just want to be part of the community. You shouldn’t have to pick between athletics and academics.”
The usual beancounter’s excuse. Why fight for improvements in the public school system when you can go outside the system. And, then, you want to cherry-pick what bits and pieces you find fit your desires.
A hotly contested bill that passed the Republican-controlled House of Delegates in the Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday would change that, permitting home-schooled students to play varsity sports at public high schools. The Virginia bill is the latest attempt by home-schooling advocates around the country to gain greater access to extracurricular activities at public schools…
Opponents of the bill argue that playing varsity sports is a privilege surrendered when students opt out of the public school system; that home-schoolers might take roster spots from public school students; and that it would be extremely difficult to apply the same academic, attendance and discipline requirements to home-schooled students as to those who are monitored daily in public schools.
To maintain varsity eligibility, for instance, Virginia’s public school students must take five courses in the current semester and must have passed five in the previous semester. Home-schooled students do not have to adhere to that standard…
The bill faces opposition from such groups as the Virginia Association of School Superintendents; the Virginia Education Association, which represents 55,000 teachers; and the Virginia High School League, the governing body for public school sports.
“There are thousands of public school students whose parents pay taxes and who attend public schools and don’t meet the eligibility requirements; they don’t get to compete in sports,” said Ken Tilley, executive director of the Virginia High School League.
Referring to home-schooled students, he added: “Others don’t meet regulations and requirements, and they’re going to get to compete? That doesn’t make sense…”
William Bosher, a professor of public policy and education at Virginia Commonwealth University and a former state superintendent of public schools who advocated for home-schooling, said: “I support choice, but if you’ve chosen that, you can’t use public schools as an à la carte system. It’s football today. Tomorrow it’s a National Academy of Sciences project. The next day it’s homecoming queen. Where does it begin and end?”
Mr. Bosher also said he believed that parents of home-schooled children should be more concerned about involvement with public schools for academic rather than athletic reasons. Currently, he said, home-schooled children in Virginia can take up to three courses in the areas of English, math, science and history at public schools.
“The first goal shouldn’t be to play football, baseball and soccer,” Mr. Bosher said. “It should be biology, French and algebra.” Especially when the official propaganda is dedication to the best education.
Look at the stats, look at the history of most of what passes for home schooling in America. Even though conservative libertarians come down on the side of the potential offered, the reality is that racism and religion play a dominant role in the practice.
If one school has the best baseball team in town the kids gets to choose that one. But, if he also plays soccer, he gets to choose another school for that sport?
Another side of this cherry-picking is who picks up the tab for kids injured in sports. I’ve seen one home schooled high school athlete who blew up his knee while participating in a high school competition – whose parents sued the local school system to pay for his medical treatment. Don’t think that’s a small cost – if you want these kids to play football.
Eideard 
An interesting subject! However, this student isn’t a very good candidate to change the system. According to the article, he will only be available for one semester:
“Patrick Foss is a top teenage soccer player who plans to graduate a semester early and enter the University of Virginia next January” “Next fall, Patrick, 17, would like to try out as a kicker on the football team at Freedom High School in South Riding, Va., but he is home-schooled and thus ineligible.”
By the way, the GW Bush administration made us count High School graduation rates only one way: Using the number who graduate in 4 years. Remember, the rate in many states, especially New Mexico, dropped precipitously when this kicked in. So home-schooled students, and those who graduate any earlier or later than in 4 years, are counted as droputs?