'Tebow bill' would let home school students play on public school teams

[The Straight Story]

'Tebow bill' would let home school students play on public school teams

Frankfort, Ky. — By RONNIE ELLIS

Frankfort, Ky. – Tim Tebow, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and twice the quarterback of NCAA football championship teams at the University of Florida, never attended public schools. He was home-schooled but he played on high school football teams.

Now Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Crescent Springs, wants kids in Kentucky to have the same opportunity. He’s introduced a bill in the state Senate which would allow home-school students in Kentucky to participate in inter-scholastic sports at their local public schools.

Westwood said he filed the bill at the request “of a couple of people who asked me to” and said he’s optimistic about the bill’s chances. He cited the example of Tebow when saying he didn’t want to penalize children whose parents chose to home school them.

“This will give them the opportunity to take advantage of public school offerings despite the fact they’ve chosen to get an education at home,” Westwood said.

He said most criticism he’s heard has come from public school athletic officials who see the bill’s provisions as a way to recruit athletes. That’s why his bill would require such students to play only for schools in whose districts the students reside. And he said he’s considering amending the bill to require any student who leaves public schools for home schooling to wait a year before joining an athletic team.

http://www.news-tribune.net/statenews/kentuckystatehouse_story_023164749.html