Legally
Speaking
Antony Barone Kolenc
Legal Access to
Public School
Classes
Our five homeschooled chil- dren have developed won- derful creative interests in areas such as music, dance,
and drama. My wife and I have sought
to foster those interests through bal-
let classes, theater productions, piano
lessons, and the like. When we lived
in Colorado Springs, we were aided by
Colorado’s homeschool-friendly poli-
cies. Under state law, our children had
legal access to the local public schools
for extracurricular classes, which helped
us provide for our family’s unique edu-
cational needs. For instance, my daugh-
ter took guitar lessons through a class
offered at the local high school, while
my son enrolled in the local middle
school band. However, not every state
or school district offers these options for
homeschooling families.
A Growing Trend
Over the years, state legislatures have
begun to recognize that, as a matter of
fairness, homeschooled students should
have access to some public school re-
sources. After all, homeschoolers pay
federal, state, and local taxes that help
fund those public schools. Also, home-
educated students can bring diversity to
public school activities while benefiting
from particular classroom-rich experi-
ences. For instance, some families find
it difficult to provide their children the
expensive resources that are sometimes
available in public school science labs,
which often use specialized equipment
and materials to perform complex
experiments.
Over the years, state
legislatures have begun
to recognize that, as
a matter of fairness,
homeschooled students
should have access to
some public school
resources.
This is an area of controversy within the homeschool community, with
some parents rejecting any efforts to
integrate their children into state-run
schools. But for those families in favor
of such opportunities, increasing numbers of states have adopted “equal access” policies that give homeschoolers
the ability to supplement their curricula in the public schools. States have different philosophies in this area, which
can be illustrated by focusing on three
general approaches.
Three Approaches
The most expansive approach in this area
allows homeschooled students to participate in public school classes and activities,
whether they are academic, extracurricular, or athletic in nature. Idaho has adopted this policy of total participation since
at least 1995, allowing children educated
at home to “dual enroll” in their local
public schools. Homeschoolers “may enter into any program in the public school
available to other students subject to compliance with the eligibility requirements
herein and the same responsibilities and
standards of behavior and performance
that apply to any student’s participation in
the activity . . . .”
1 This broad philosophy
offers home-educated students the highest levels of flexibility and opportunity
and provides a model worthy of imitation
in other states.
A more limited approach permits
homeschooled students to take some academic courses within the public school
curriculum without necessarily setting a
statewide policy for other activities, such
as interscholastic sports. Wisconsin has
taken this view since 1998—but only at the
high school level—with a state law requiring high school districts to “allow a pupil
enrolled in a . . . home-based educational
program, who has met the standards for
admission to high school . . . to take up
to 2 courses during each school semester
. . . if the school board determines that
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