The “Tebow bill”–much like the New York Jets quarterback himself–has a rap: it can’t seem to pass. The bill, offered since 2005, has thus far failed to become law in Virginia.
Now, however, it has been reintroduced and at some point soon will be debated by legislators. If passed, the “Tebow bill” would allow home-schoolers to play sports and to participate in extra curricular activities at their local public high school, just as Tebow did for Nease High School in Florida. Currently, 32 states have on their books comparable measures.
The “Tebow bill” stipulates that only home-schoolers who meet specific eligibility, disciplinary, and residency criteria can be eligible to try out for high school extracurricular activities or sports. For example, to comply with academic requisites, home-schoolers must provide standardized test scores or undergo an annual review by the school system. Furthermore, the bill provides for localities to decide if home-schoolers should be allowed to participate or not.
Proponents of the “Tebow bill” argue it is only fair because parents of home-schooled children pay taxes to finance local public schools, and it is not right that a parent’s decision on how and where to educate best his child should be used to exclude him from the football team or the chess club. Opponents of the bill believe it will lead to “school shopping” and to home-schoolers taking roster spots from public school students.
Whether the “Tebow bill” will become law in Virginia remains unseen. Last year, it passed the state House but was defeated narrowly in a Senate Committee by one vote.