Equality for Homeschool Students in Athletics

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Although homeschool student rights have risen in recent years in the nation and in Fauquier County, there are still steps to be made. According to the policies of the VHSL, or Virginia High School League, homeschool students are not permitted to participate in the athletic teams in public schools (Advocating for Homeschooled Children). This affects the more than 30,000 homeschool students in Virginia (Chapman). To define, homeschool is “school taking place outside of the public and private school setting” (Rockholt). Because of the numerous physical, mental, and social benefits that playing on an athletic team provides, it in the best interest of homeschool students and the entire educational community for them to be able to play on the athletic teams of public schools.
It is evident that homeschool students will benefit academically when they participate on school athletic teams. Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between academic performance and time for athletic activity. These same studies have also shown that athletic activity boosts mental skills such as memory and concentration (Strong and Malina). If homeschool students play on the school athletic teams, they will be able to learn quicker and more efficiently, boosting their chances for success later in life. This is proven by the fact that homeschool students how play on athletic teams have better expectations for going to college than those who do not (Rockholt). Allowing homeschool students to participate in athletic teams will increase their chances for success in their current education and into higher education at the university level. Should they not have these advantages that public school students have, being able to play on school sports ...

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..., it was reported that the number of homeschool students increased from 850,000 to nearly 1.1 million. To put this in perspective, the percentage of students being homeschooled increased from 1.7% in 1999 to 2.2% in 2003 (Bielick; Chapman). Others can say that if homeschool students truly want to play on the school athletic teams, they should just join the public school system. However, families do not opt for homeschooling because of trivial reasons, they actually have real concerns for their child. According to parents, their reasons include: Poor learning environment at school (26%), religious reasons (38%), and the child has special needs/disability (8%) (Bielick). These are all rational reasons to opt for homeschooling, so the students should not have to choose between having an education that fits their needs or being able to play on the school sports teams.

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