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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — After years of playing defense, the Alabama High School Athletic Association is beginning to change its game plan on allowing home-schooled students to participate in public school sports.
The reversal comes just weeks after the Alabama Legislature failed to pass a bill that would have created the framework for allowing home school students in the state to participate in extracurricular activities through public schools in their home districts.
The organization, which oversees interscholastic athletic programs for public schools in Alabama, has been one of the groups at the forefront of stopping the integration of home school students with public school athletes. But after the legislation known as the Tim Tebow Act gain more traction than in past legislative sessions, AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said it was time to reconsider.
"Our central board of control has previously examined home school participation for the last three years," Savarese said in an interview. "And with legislative pressure, the board felt like it was a better option to create their own bylaw than to support a bill that had some created some different standards for eligibility."
During the 2015 legislative session, Savarese had testified against the Tim Tebow Act, at the time expressing concern that it would be unfair to hold public school athletes and home-schooled athletes to different academic and attendance standards. But he said the organization will spend the first several months of 2016 developing bylaws rather than letting the Legislature do it.
"The fundamental issue is fair play, and the bill or the bills, that membership has seen previously, have not promoted fair play," he said.
Lawmakers who have supported the Tim Tebow Act welcome the association's initiative.
State Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery, chaired the Senate committee that approved the Tim Tebow Act during the regular session. He said it's in the association's best interest to draft their own rules.
"Believe, me, I would rather have them write the rules rather than us because they know a lot more about it, so I think it will work out for everybody," he said.
Brewbaker said he hopes the association comes up with an "orderly and fair" way to allow children to play.
"I mean after all their parents are paying taxes, and I think this is a very fair approach and I'm sure the athletic association will do a good job," he said.
However, after several years of empty promises, Savarese has gained a reputation among some lawmakers for not following through.
State Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, has been a staunch advocate for the Tim Tebow Act. Henry, who has sponsored the legislation in the past, said in an interview that this isn't the first time the athletic association director has told the legislature it would make way for home-schooled students to play.
"Typically in the past it's been a stalling technique to prevent the Legislature from dealing with it," Henry said. "I hope for the best, but I'm very doubtful."
Jay Driver, a father of 10, said he's spent the past decade fighting for his children to have a chance to compete on public school teams. A former public school teacher and a coach, Driver said he understands the complications that can arise with including home-schooled students.
The Drivers live in south Alabama in Covington County, just north of Andalusia in a community called Rose Hill. He said some people have suggested home-school students should just make their own sports team to compete, but in towns as small as the Drivers' there wouldn't be enough students.
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