Senate Committee Passes Bill Expanding Interscholastic Opportunities for Home Schoolers

Home School, ,

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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Bill Filed to Provide Students With Equal Access to College and Career Readiness Assessments Like SAT, ACT Exams

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A measure filed at the Arkansas Legislature on Tuesday would provide students in Arkansas with equal access to college and career readiness assessments like the SAT and ACT exams.

Organizations like College Board, National Merit Scholarship Corporation, and others are responsible for college and career readiness assessments. These tests are crucial for students who want to attend college or qualify for scholarships.

Most of these college and career readiness assessments are nationally-recognized, norm-referenced tests. Students typically take these exams outside of normal class hours at a school that has agreed to serve as a test site for the exam.

In many cases, the test site may be a school that the student does not attend.

H.B. 1428 by Rep. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) ensures that public, private, and home schooled students have equal access to college and career readiness assessments offered at public schools in Arkansas.

Under H.B. 1428, a public school that serves as a test site for one of these college and career exams would not be able to use the student’s enrollment status as grounds for denying the student access to the test.

Testing organizations like College Board also provide recommendations for accommodating students who have physical disabilities or learning disabilities.

H.B. 1428 ensures that public schools that serve as a test site for one of these exams will provide accommodations as recommended by the testing organization if a student has a verifiable physical disability or learning disability.

H.B. 1428 is a good bill that will ensure students have equal access to college and career readiness assessments regardless of where they attend school and regardless of any disabilities that they may have.

You Can Read H.B. 1428 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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