By JAMIE BAKER
Staff Writer
A big change is on the horizon as school sports teams embark on their seasons in the new school year. And not everyone likes it.
Beginning Sept. 29, more than 24,000 home-schooled and parochial schoolchildren can participate in extracurricular activities in their home public school district.
A provision in the state budget signed into law at the end of June requires public school districts to allow these students to participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities, such as band, choir and school clubs.
“There is a vision in the Legislature that doesn’t come anywhere close to what our vision of high school sports is all about,” Ohio High School Athletic Association Commissioner Daniel Ross told a group of northwestern Ohio school administrators last week.
“The question, the longer and the more time we spend dealing with the Legislature, is: Where are high school sports going to be in five to 10 years? I just don’t know,” Ross said.
Previously, the OHSAA, which governs middle and high school sports, left it to each school district to decide whether to allow home-school students to participate on athletic teams.
Many districts allowed the students to participate as long as there was at least some partial enrollment at the school.
Other districts took an all-or-nothing approach. If a home-schooler wanted to participate in school activities, he or she had to be a full-time student.
Ross told school officials the new rules were “foisted” on the OHSAA and its member schools by the Legislature.
He said it had worked well to have local school boards decide whether they would let home-schoolers participate.
“I don’t like that fact that a youngster just shows up at 3:30 (p.m.), and then he’s yours. I think we lose something that could have been gained by the schools, coaches, and people getting to know that student in a school setting,” Ross said.
State Rep. Dave Hall, R-Millersburg, inserted the amendment into the budget bill without objection from colleagues.
The OHSAA and its lobbyists failed to get the provision out of the budget bill, which was signed into law by Gov. John Kasich on June 29.
Under the law, if the public school of residence doesn’t offer the sport or activity a home-schooler is interested in, the student can participate in the activity at a nearby school that does offer it, as long as that school’s superintendent agrees.
The new provision also affects private school students.
For example, Findlay-based St. Michael and Heritage Christian schools don’t have school-sponsored wrestling teams.
A St. Michael or Heritage Christian student who wanted to wrestle and resided in the Findlay School District could participate at either Glenwood, Donnell or Findlay High School.
The students would have to meet the same eligibility requirements as any other student participating in the activity.
For small private schools with limited athletic offerings, the change could lead to expanded opportunities for their students.
“I have mixed emotions, because I need all the soccer players I’ve got,” said Heritage Christian Principal Tim England, who doubles as the school’s soccer coach.
“But if we have some kids who might want to play football or another sport we don’t offer, and the parents and the kids want to do it, why not?” he said.
“I’m a big fan of individual sports like wrestling and track. We don’t have those teams, but those sports teach discipline and some different lessons than team sports do and those lessons are good for kids.”
But with the new rule there is the potential for a home-schooled student to play three different sports at three different schools.
For example, a home-school student in the Arcadia district who wanted to play football would be allowed to play for Arcadia.
If he wanted to swim, he could join the Findlay swim team during the winter because Arcadia doesn’t offer swimming.
If he wanted to play tennis in the spring, he could have the opportunity to play at Fostoria.
“We were joking around the office that you could have 10 letter-winners on your basketball team where one goes to your school and the other nine you never see (in classes). Do I believe that’s what’s coming? Yes,” Ross said.
“We had a lot of meetings this spring with downtown people in Columbus. They made it extremely clear that choice is the direction that Ohio is going to go,” Ross said.
“…We never really perceived ourselves as restricting choice, but we also believe there ought to be a standard and that standard should be applied through the administrators at our member schools,” he said.
The new provision has raised questions for school administrators, who aren’t happy but will be required to comply with the rules on Sept. 29.
“I think the biggest concern is eligibility,” said Bluffton Superintendent Greg Denecker, who has 20 home-schooled students in his district.
“The vast majority home-school their kids in the right way and for the right reasons. But eligibility is a concern and making sure they meet the requirements to be eligible is a concern for schools and the OHSAA,” he said.
“Everyone is going to have to comply with the law, so everyone will have the same rules. I’d imagine we’ll have some kids who will want to participate in some of the activities at our school.
“One positive is that maybe once those kids begin to participate in athletics, get to know some of their teammates and see what we have to offer, they might want to be part of the school. I do see some potential for that,” Denecker said.
Van Buren and Upper Sandusky are among the districts that have taken an all-or-nothing approach to home-schoolers. Until now, students had to be enrolled or they couldn’t participate.
“It’s a two-edge coin if I was a home-school parent. I would certainly want that opportunity for my child to get some of those experiences, extracurricular and co-curriculars, that schools offer,” said Van Buren Superintendent Tim Myers, a 35-year educator with 11 home-schooled students in his district.
“But on the other hand, if you don’t want to be part of the public education in the classroom, why would you want to participate in the other activities? It’s like having your cake and eating it, too,” Myers said.
“I also have issues with eligibility and transportation. At Van Buren, we have random drug testing and then there may be some worries about the students following our code of conduct here at the school. There are lots of questions yet to be answered,” he said.
The ability to check on a home-school student’s eligibility, as well as making them follow other school-adopted rules, appears to be a primary concern.
“My first opinion is that it will cause a big mess,” said Upper Sandusky Superintendent Mike Eaglowski, whose district has 24 home-schoolers, including three of high school age.
“We’ll have difficulty checking on the home-schoolers’ eligibility and that’s a big problem. We also require our students to be in school for half a day to participate in a game. How would we enforce that with home-school students?” he said.
“Something like this could easily lead to widespread cheating. I could see some schools possibly abusing the rule and that’s troublesome because that’s not what high school sports is supposed to be about. This rule will be tough for schools and the OHSAA to police,” Eaglowski said.
Eaglowski said the new rule will be even more of a challenge for Ohio’s urban and larger school districts.
Superintendents of the region’s two largest districts, Findlay City Schools’ Dean Wittwer and Fostoria Community Schools’ Andrew Sprang, did not return calls and emails seeking comment.
But for many home-school parents across Ohio, it’s a change that couldn’t come fast enough.
Donald Walter is a home-school parent in the Liberty-Benton district. His family has home-schooled its son Noah, a junior this fall, since the family moved to Findlay from Arizona when Noah was in fourth grade.
“We just think there is so much more available for Noah than a standard public school curriculum has, and being able to home-school was appealing to us,” Walter said. “We focus his studies on math, science, English and reading.”
Walter asked Liberty-Benton and another area school if Noah could join the school’s baseball team. The Walters were denied that opportunity in the past, but now, Noah will likely get his chance to play baseball and participate in a few other activities at Liberty-Benton.
“Bottom line is that we are excited. I don’t think schools are going to see a massive influx of home-school kids wanting to participate,” Walter said.
“I think it’s time for schools to embrace the home-school kids. I think it can be a positive thing for everyone.”
Baker, 419-427-8409
jamiebaker@thecourier.com
The post Prep Sports: Sports, band now open to homeschoolers appeared first on Sports Buzz Ohio.