Senate Committee Passes Bill Expanding Interscholastic Opportunities for Home Schoolers

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On Wednesday the Senate Education Committee passed a bill expanding interscholastic opportunities for home schoolers.

S.B. 361 by Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) and Rep. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance) amends Arkansas’ “Tim Tebow” law that lets home schoolers participate in athletics and other interscholastic activities at their local public schools. The “Tebow” law is named after former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow was able to play football as a home schooler thanks to a similar law in Florida.

S.B. 361 makes it easier for home schoolers to participate in an activity in a neighboring school district if their local district doesn’t offer the activity.

It also clarifies requirements in the “Tebow” law about enrollment in public school classes and about the waiting period for students who withdraw from a public school to start home schooling.

As we said when lawmakers passed it in 2013, the “Tim Tebow” law is about school choice.

It empowers families by providing children with interscholastic options as well as educational options. That’s how it should be.

Last summer Family Council obtained government data showing at least 463 home schooled students utilized the “Tim Tebow” law in 2021.

The “Tim Tebow” law is a good law that Family Council has been pleased to support over the years.

You Can Read S.B. 361 Here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas House Resolution Honors Home Schooling

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Above: Rep. Cooper is H.R. 1021’s lead sponsor.

A resolution filed in the Arkansas House of Representatives on Tuesday honors home schooling across the state.

H.R. 1021 by Reps. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance), Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs), Wayne Long (R – Bradford), and Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) recognizes the fact that home schooling provides educational flexibility and benefits to more than 30,000 students in Arkansas.

The resolution also sets aside Tuesday, February 21, 2023, as Home School Day at the Arkansas State Capitol.

Family Council has always believed families deserve options when it comes to education. That’s one reason we support home schooling.

Home schooling is a great example of how giving families options can help their children flourish.

Family Council has supported home schooling for more than 25 years, because it empowers parents to give their son or their daughter the education that’s right for them. Home schooling in Arkansas has been incredibly successful as a result.

You Can Read H.R. 1021 Here.

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Four Home Schoolers Named Among 2023 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists

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Recently the National Merit Scholarships named 169 high school students from Arkansas as National Merit Scholar Semifinalists.

Of those students, four were home schoolers:

  • John S. Sooter of Bentonville
  • Sophia A. Wright of Hot Springs
  • Alison K. Giggleman of Roland
  • Kyla L. Cross of Springdale

To be named as a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist is a tremendous honor.

Semifinalists move on to compete for approximately 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth $28 million to be offered next year.

Students vying for the National Merit Scholarships apply by taking the PSAT exam in the fall of their junior year.

The Arkansas Department of Education has taken steps this year to increase home schoolers’ access to the PSAT.

Please join us in congratulating these students on their achievement!

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

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