Senate Bill 2537

AN ACT ENTITLED THE "TIM TEBOW ACT"; TO AUTHORIZE INTERSCHOLASTIC EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN HOMESCHOOLS; TO DEFINE "HOMESCHOOL" AND "INTERSCHOLASTIC EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY"; TO IDENTIFY THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A STUDENT ENROLLED IN A HOMESCHOOL MAY PARTICIPATE IN INTERSCHOLASTIC EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES; TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMESCHOOL STUDENT SELECTION OR PARTICIPATION IN SUCH ACTIVITIES; TO SPECIFY WAITING PERIOD FOR PARTICIPATION WHEN A STUDENT TRANSFERS FROM A PUBLIC SCHOOL TO A HOMESCHOOL; TO PROVIDE THAT PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY IS A PRIVILEGE AND NOT A RIGHT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Tim Tebow Act."

SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) "Homeschool" means a nonpublic school in which one or more children of not more than two (2) families or households receive full-time supervised academic instruction from a parent, legal guardian, or member of either household.

(b) "Interscholastic extracurricular activity" means participation in a school-authorized band or sports team practice or competition.

(2) (a) A student enrolled in a homeschool is eligible to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities sponsored by or engaged in by the public school to which the student would be assigned according to district school board attendance policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to district open enrollment provisions. A student eligible under this section who is selected to participate in extracurricular activities shall:

(i) Pay any participation or activity fee in an amount equal to the fee charged to public school participants;

(ii) Adhere to the same standards of behavior, responsibility, performance, and code of conduct as any other participants in the extracurricular activity;

(iii) Adhere to the same academic achievements on grade level as other participants, as determined by grade level testing administered by a school psychometrist or his designee;

(iv) Register with the school his or her intent to participate in extracurricular activity as a representative of the school before the beginning date of the semester for the activity in which he or she wishes to participate; and

(v) Comply with the same physical examination, immunization, insurance, age and semester eligibility requirements as other students participating in the activity.

(b) A student who transfers from a public school to a homeschool shall not participate on interscholastic extracurricular teams until twelve (12) months after the date of transfer.

(c) Transportation of the student to the public school to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities is the responsibility of the parent, guardian or student. The student may use the same transportation as other students as long as additional expenses are not incurred by the district.

(d) A public school shall not discriminate against a student eligible under this section in the selection of interscholastic extracurricular team members.

(e) A public school team or group shall not be impeded from competing against any other public school team or group solely because the public school team or group includes students eligible under this section.

(3) Participation in an interscholastic extracurricular activity is a privilege and not a right. Nothing in this act shall be interpreted to create a cause of action on behalf of a student against a public school or public school district official or against an interscholastic extracurricular activities association.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.