CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Count the leader of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission among the opponents of the so-called “Tim Tebow Bill” which is pending in two forms at the State Capitol during this year’s legislative session: SB 130 and HB 4007.
In general, the bills would let homeschooled students participate in extracurricular activities at public schools, but Bernie Dolan, WVSSAC executive director, said he believes an existing law could help those students meet eligibility requirements.
The Establishing Accessibility and Equity in Public Education Enhancement Act, which passed in 2017 and is in the process of being implemented at county levels, would allow for required classes to establish and maintain eligibility to be taken virtually.
“Not only is it going to allow the homeschooled people to participate in athletics so they can enroll in class, but they’re also going to be available to a lot of the upper level classes that they might not normally have access to,” Nolan said.
As written, the law seeks “alternatives to traditional classroom delivery” by allowing public schools to provide a variety of instructional delivery models with “enhanced education opportunities” utilizing technology for flexible and innovative programs.
Thus far, the earliest steps toward the additions have been taken in Greenbrier, Kanawha and Mingo counties, according to Dolan.
“There is an option and I think they’ve just got to give us a little time to get that up and running to allow participation,” Dolan said on a recent edition of MetroNews “Talkline.”
As the session moves into its 2nd full week, SB 130 is pending in the Senate Finance Committee after passing out of the Senate Education Committee while HB 4007 has not moved from the House Education Committee.
Dolan said both versions of the bill have the potential to put extracurriculars out of reach for some students. “Every time you bring a kid from outside, you’re going to displace a kid who comes to school every day,” was his argument.
Supporters of the legislation have disagreed.
This year’s true “Tebow Bill,” in Dolan’s reading, was HB 4007 since it included homeschooled students only and not private and parochial non-WVSSAC member schools.
Last year, Governor Jim Justice vetoed legislation that included the provision covering students from private and religious schools without sponsored sports.
Currently, Dolan said, all WVSSAC member schools follow the same eligibility rules for extracurricular activities.
“We have honed our rules over the years that we don’t consider the private schools and different than the public,” Dolan said. “They have the exact same rules.”
The legislation at issue is named for Tim Tebow, a former homeschooled student who joined a public high school football team in Florida and won a state championship before going on to win the Heisman Trophy with the Florida Gators.