(Photo from Tim Tebow's website)
- Every neighboring state has changed their public school laws or policies in recent years to allow homeschoolers to participate in extracurricular activities. Mississippi could join them this year.
Various lawmakers have filed versions of what’s become known as the “Tim Tebow Act” in the Mississippi Legislature for close to a decade to no avail.
Now, it appears the legislation has its best chance yet of passing as both Senate and House Education chairmen have filed nearly identical bills this session.
The “Tim Tebow Act” is named after the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback who famously began his athletic journey as a homeschool student in Florida. He was allowed to play public high school sports and excelled, leading his team to a state championship.
Tebow went on to play for the University of Florida where his team won the National Championship in 2007 and 2008. He was the first homeschooled athlete to win the Heisman Trophy.
Tebow then entered the NFL and enjoyed a stint with the New York Mets baseball organization as well. He is currently an author, college football analyst, and featured speaker around the country sharing a message of faith and family.
Every neighboring state has changed their public school laws or policies in recent years to allow homeschoolers to participate in extracurricular activities, joining some 33 states across the nation that have done the same.
Homeschooling spiked in Mississippi during the COVID pandemic, up a reported 40 percent to some 25,000 homeschool students in the state.
This shift has occurred as the Mississippi Department of Education has reported a steadily declining public school student population over the past five years. Public school enrollment has dropped nearly 30,000, or 6.3 percent, from 466,002 students in the 2019-2020 school year to 436,523 in the 2023-2024 school year.
Homeschool parents pay the same local and state taxes as those who send their children to public school, yet those students have not been allowed to participate in local public school extracurricular activities, such as sports, in Mississippi.
Public school lobbyists have traditionally opposed such legislation in the Magnolia State, often contending that participating in public school extracurricular activities is a privilege. They claim homeschool students are not held to the same standards as their public school counterparts.
To overcome this objection, Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar (R) and House Education Chairman Rob Roberson (R) specifically included language in their bills outlining that homeschoolers looking to participate in public school extracurriculars must “adhere to the same academic standards as other participants.”
The legislation states that those standards are to be confirmed by appropriate documentation provided by the student to the public school providing the extracurricular activity in which the student participates.
“A parent or other person acting in place of a parent to a homeschool student participating in the extracurricular activity periodically must provide, in accordance with the school’s grading calendar, verification to the school indicating that the student is receiving a passing grade in each course or subject being taught,” the bill reads.
The House legislation, which is similar in the Senate’s version, goes on to state that the homeschoolers must comply with the same physical examination, immunization, insurance, age and semester eligibility requirements as other students participating in the extracurricular activity. They would also pay any participation or activity fee in an amount equal to the fee charged to public school students.
Homeschool students would be allowed to use the same transportation as other students so long as additional expenses are not incurred by the school district.
State Rep. Roberson told Magnolia Tribune on Friday that he’s always supported the state’s homeschool population being able to join activities within public schools.
“They should be treated like the taxpayers they are and benefit from that,” Roberson said. “We may have to look at different ideas and amend whatever law we look at to achieve that goal.”
The main objective, Rep. Roberson added, is to promote, protect, and allow the children to progress in life and become the next generation of leaders in Mississippi “regardless of their zip code or the way they receive their education.”
EmpowerMS has long championed the law change for homeschool students. CEO Grant Callen told Magnolia Tribune on Friday that he was thrilled to see both the House and Senate introduce the “Tim Tebow” bills, applauding Senator DeBar and Rep. Roberson for their efforts.
“Parents have been asking for this freedom for over a decade and I hope this is the year this law finally gets enacted,” Callen said. “Homeschool families pay taxes and should have the same right to participate in public school sports whether or not they are enrolled in the district for their education.”
The legislation states that the homeschoolers would be allowed to participate in the public school extracurricular activities to which the student would be assigned according to the attendance policies adopted by the school board of the local school district.
The homeschool student would be subject to the transfer rules that apply to transfers from one public school to another public school.
Both versions of the bill also establish a special fund within the State Department of Education to be known as the “Homeschool Extracurricular Activity Fund.” School districts would be eligible to apply for and receive up to $2,250 for each homeschool student who participated in extracurricular activities in the prior school year.
Senate Bill 2179 and House Bill 1617 have been single referred for consideration by the Education committees in their chambers, both of which are chaired by the authors of the measures.
Frank Corder
