Equal Access - Homeschooling and Public School Programs
By Mimi Rothschild
There have been many battles waged and won in the name of homeschooling throughout the last several years at school board meetings and even the courts The homeschool community has come a long way because of them. We struggled for years to be free and independent of the controls of the public education system in the U.S. Today it is legal to homeschool in all 50 states.
Consequently, homeschool families, as they enjoy their freedom, begin to wonder if a homeschooler can receive his education at home while continuing to participate in some public school programs—such as music, art, sports, language classes, clubs, or teams.
It all depends on what state your family lives in and can sometimes even depend on the particular school. Participation in public school programs is not considered a right for any homeschooler—it’s a privilege granted by the state, and it can also be left up to the discretion of your local public school. Whether or not your child can participate in public school programs is not up to you—unless you’re local school allows it. This lack of control can be difficult to deal with, as it seems to go against everything that we hold dear about homeschooling.
However, even in states where equal access for homeschoolers and public school programs is granted, there are still strings attached and requirements to meet. For example, homeschool students must abide by the state’s homeschool law, meet the eligibility requirements for the class, club or team, and prove to the state they are meeting academic requirements.
In states where it’s up to the school district, a homeschooler—along with a parent, if necessary—will need to make a presentation in front of the local superintendent or school board. Further, if your child is interested in joining a sports team, you will all likely have to deal with the interscholastic sports league, which can get tricky.
It’s not always a simple process to get your homeschooler access to public school programs that interests him or her. However, it can be done, and if you know that this will be something beneficial to your child, you’ll want to do whatever you can to make it work.
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