Georgia bill would allow home-schoolers on public school teams

Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow home-schooled students to participate in public school athletics.

The proposal, also known as the “Tim Tebow Act,” would authorize home-study students to participate in extracurricular and interscholastic activities in the student’s resident public school system. The bill currently sits in the Senate’s Education and Youth Committee, where it failed to pass due to a tie vote.

While the bill is still alive, it’s prospects don’t look promising. A similar proposal last year failed to make it past committee hearings.

  » RELATED: Debating home-schooler participation in sports

Thirty states currently allow participation by home-schooled students, with different variations of oversight. Missouri is another state that’s currently trying to pass a bill granting access to home-schooled students. Proponents say tax-paying families have the right to enroll their kids in extracurriculars, while opponents worry about academic eligibility and how the school could verify a home-schooled athlete’s grades.

“Students who are home-schooled may be unable to receive college athletic or departmental scholarships because of lack of exposure to recruiters,” the bill reads. “Home-school parents pay property taxes that fund public school activities, yet their children are not currently allowed to participate in the activities.”

Georgia ranks 13th in the nation for high school sports participation with 201,467 student-athletes.

Read more from WSB-TV in Atlanta.