Posted by Howard Richman on November 10 2005 at 07:08:59:
Governor Rendell will sign Senate Bill 361, the school sports and extra-currculars bill, at 1pm in his Harrisburg capitol office today. I will be among the homeschoolers attending the ceremony. Peter Hrycenko, the homeschool dad who carried the ball on this bill, will also be there. Some of the homeschooled children who will be affected will also attend. Here is the text of the new law:
(1) Beginning January 1, 2006, the school district of residence shall permit a child who is enrolled in a home education program to participate in any activity that is subject to the provisions of Section 511 including, but not limited to, clubs, musical ensembles, athletics and theatrical productions provided that the child:The front page story of the next issue of our PA Homeschoolers newsletter, due out at the end of November, will tell the story of how this new law came to be. You can subscribe for $12 if you click on "Enter Store" on the sidebar.(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the school district of residence´s program of interscholastic athletics, including varsity sports, shall be considered an activity and shall include all activities related to competitive sports contests, games, events or exhibitions involving individual students or teams of students whenever such activities occur between schools within the school district or between schools outside of the school district.
- meets the eligibility criteria, or their equivalent, for participation in the activity that apply to students enrolled in the school district;
- meets the try-out criteria, or their equivalent, for participation in the activity that apply to students enrolled in the school district; and
- complies with all policies, rules and regulations, or their equivalent, of the governing organization of the activity.
(3) Where the activity requires completion of a physical examination or medical test as a condition of participation and the school district of residence offers such physical examination or medical test to students enrolled in the school district, the school district shall permit a child who is enrolled in a home education program to access such physical examination or medical test. The school district shall publish the dates and times of such physical examination or medical test in a publication of general circulation in the school district and on its publicly accessible Internet website.
(4) A board of school directors may adopt a policy to implement the requirements of this subsection. Such policy shall only apply to participation in activities and shall not conflict with any provisions of this section.
Howard