House Education Committee Passes Bill Expanding Interscholastic Opportunities for Home Schoolers

Education, , ,

On Tuesday the House Education Committee passed a good 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 law is named after former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who 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 interscholastic 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 want to play sports after withdrawing 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.

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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Senate Public Health Committee Advances Good Bills

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On Monday the Senate Public Health Committee advanced two good bills.

The first was S.B. 452 by Sen. Ben Gilmore (R – Crossett) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton).

The bill amends the legislative declarations in the Arkansas Family Planning Act of 1973. It deletes legislative findings in state law that claim, “Continuing population growth either causes or aggravates many social, economic, and environmental problems, both in this state and in the nation,” and that “[c]ontraceptive procedures, supplies, and information as to and procedures for voluntary sterilization are not sufficiently available as a practical matter to many persons in this state.”

The second was S.B. 463 — also by Sen. Ben Gilmore (R – Crossett) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) — clarifying that the State Medical Board will revoke the license of a physician that violates Arkansas’ laws against abortion-inducing drugs.

Both bills now go to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.

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ACLU Opposes Religious Freedom Protections in Arkansas

Religious Freedom, ,
Above: A screenshot of one of the ACLU’s statements against H.B. 1615, a bill that would help protect the free exercise of religion in Arkansas.

The ACLU opposes a bill at the state legislature that would help protect religious freedom and rights of conscience in Arkansas.

H.B. 1615 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) makes important clarifications to the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The bill amends state law to add important language that would help prevent the government from burdening the free exercise of religion.

H.B. 1615 helps prohibit religious discrimination against individuals, business owners, and organizations that want to follow their deeply held religious convictions.

Christian-owned wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, and florist shops have come under fire in state and federal court in recent years. That is why it is so important for our laws to protect religious liberty.

If passed, H.B. 1615 would provide Arkansans with some of the best religious freedom protections in the nation.

Family Council is pleased to support this good bill.

The House Judiciary Committee could vote on H.B 1615 this week.

You Can Read The Bill Here.

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