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Homeschoolers and Sports The question of whether or not a homeschool teen should be allowed to participate in public school sports programming proves to be a contentious issue just within the homeschool community. Pro-sports involvement families believe that their child should have the opportunity to compete with their peers as a benefit of being a state taxpayer. Oftentimes these families have a talented athlete whose chance of earning a college sports-related scholarship is tied to their competing in a sactioned league during their high school years. Families who oppose homeschoolers participating in any publicly funded school activity generally make no distinction between academic, extra-curricuar, or sports-related activities. The argument from this side of the table generally says that once one homeschooler begins to submit to extraneous verification and certification of their homeschool curricular program, little time will be lost in rewriting Maryland regulations requiring all families to meet more onerous compliance requirements. Most Maryand high schools have specific policies requiring students to maintain a certain GPA in order to qualify to play on a sports team. Homeschool athletes would be subject to the same standard, should they be allowed to play. You can read the current regulations pertaining to sports participation in public schools. COMAR specifically states that a student must be registered and attending a "member MPSSAA school" in order to be eligible to compete in interscholastic athletics. In 2008, the Maryland Assembly introduced a bill that would have allowed homeschoolers to participate in select classes and after-school activities. The debate, both in Anapolis and within the homeschool community, was fierce. The bill died in its House committee. Throughout the country, other states of grappled with the same dilemma of allowing homeschoolers to participate in sports programs. Here's a short list of policies from some states: Arizona Allows homeschoolers to try out for sports teams and requires parents to submit written verfication of grades. California Does not currently allow homeschoolers to participate on high school sports teams. Illinois Homeschoolers can establish their own teams and compete against public school sports teams. If a homeschooler wants to participate on a public school team, then they must be enrolled in a minimum of 20 credit hours a week at their high school. Kentucky Currently prohibits homeschoolers from participating in public school athletics, though a bill was recently introduced to reverse that policy. Nevada Allows for homeschool sports participation with various conditions. New Jersey Each district makes their own decision about partial-homeschooling and sports eligibility.

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