Two Home School-Related Bills Filed

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Rep. Mark Lowery (R-Maumelle) has filed two bills expanding opportunities for home schoolers to utilize the state’s “Tim Tebow” law.

Arkansas’ “Tim Tebow” law lets home schoolers try out for extracurricular activities at their local public schools, provided they can demonstrate academic eligibility and meet any other criteria required by the school

Making “Tebow” Fair for Home Schoolers

H.B. 1474 lets a home schooled student try out for extracurricular activities at a neighboring school district if the student’s resident school district and the neighboring school district both agree to allow it.

Right now, some public school students can attend school in neighboring school districts by “mutual agreement” of the two districts; if both school districts agree it is OK, the student can attend school in a neighboring district. H.B. 1474 gives home schoolers the same option under the state’s “Tim Tebow” law.

The bill also ensures tryout criteria are fair for home schoolers . In some school districts, home schoolers who want to participate in extracurricular activities have been required to meet unfair tryout criteria. H.B. 1474 ensures public school students and home schoolers have an equal opportunity to tryout for extracurricular activities.

Expanding “Tebow” to Private Schools as Well as Public

H.B. 1481 expands Arkansas’ “Tim Tebow” law to let home schoolers tryout for extracurricular activities at private schools as well as public schools.

Under this bill, a home schooler may request to tryout for extracurriculars at a private school within 25 miles of where he or she lives. The private school is not obligated to let the home schooler tryout. Any home schooler who is allowed to tryout for extracurricular activities at a private school would be required to meet the same standards and criteria as a student enrolled in the private school.

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A.G.: Local “Nondiscrimination” Ordinances Unenforceable

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Earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 137 preventing city or county governments in Arkansas from creating protected classes of citizens not found in state law.

Despite Act 137, four cities along with Pulaski County have passed ordinances extending special protections on the basis of, among other things, sexual-orientation and gender-identity.

Today Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued an opinion on the five local ordinances, saying,

“Act 137 renders unenforceable any ordinance that prohibits discrimination on a basis not already contained in state law. Because current state law does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, it is my opinion that Act 137 renders the five ordinances unenforceable in this respect. . . .

“This language indicates that the General Assembly intended Act 137 to ‘hold the field’ with respect to antidiscrimination law. The Act expressly prohibits localities from regulating in that field. More specifically, the Act effectively prohibits cities and counties from prohibiting discrimination in a way that varies from state law. . . . By removing the cities’ and counties’ ability to enact antidiscrimination laws at variance with state laws, Act 137 clearly holds the field and leaves no room for political subdivisions to act.”

With seventy-five counties and hundreds of cities and towns across the state, it makes sense that policies concerning civil rights and discrimination would be addressed at the state level rather than left up to each individual city council or quorum court.

The opinion comes as early voting begins in Fayetteville, where voters have been asked to weigh in on a so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance. Even if passed, according to this opinion from the Attorney General, the ordinance would be unenforceable as it is currently written.

We have discussed before how these local ordinances carry a number of unintended consequences. Among other things, they threaten to infringe religious liberty, and some of them even inadvertently allow men to use women’s restrooms, locker rooms, showers, and similar facilities–and vice versa.

You can read the full A.G.’s opinion here.

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Legislators Commend Pregnancy Resource Centers

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Yesterday the Arkansas Senate passed a resolution commending Arkansas’ pregnancy resource centers.

These centers provide support for young women with unplanned pregnancies. They offer vital resources and empower women to choose an alternative to abortion.

S.R. 24 by Senator Missy Irvin was adopted by the Arkansas Senate recognizing “the importance of pregnancy resource centers in Arkansas.” The resolution mirrors H.R. 1019, by Rep. Mary Benltey, which the Arkansas House of Representatives passed earlier this month.

House and Senate resolutions do not change state law, but they are a way legislators can make a public, pro-life declaration.

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