Tebow Bill

[DinwiddieProud]

Is HB 1626 the same bill as last year?

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

I was hoping that stupid bill get now get introduced this year. That will do more damage to high school sports than LCA joining VHSL.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

I'm not sure it's the exact same bill, or for that matter, the only bill, but it was the only one I saw when I reviewed the General Assembly web site.

Curious if anyone has first hand knowledge of the legislator that introduced it, and why it's important to him.

I don't think the mood of the GA has changed and I expect it will die in commitee again.

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

The same delegate has introduced this stupid bill every year. his name is Rob Bell. i think he is from Albermarle County. but i might be wrong on the county. i have written him several letters. he has yet to respond.

hopefully the bill will die in committee again . The Republicans are mostly for the bill and Democrats against it. Thankfully there is a former coach on committee.

Any DA should know that in order to play for a school you need to be a student at the school .

 

[Coach G - FB]

I have spoken to him personally. He is clueless and is attached to a few of his constituents bottoms.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

A brief Google search raises more questions than it gives answers, about "who" he is. Generally, he appears to be a conservative, but my gut tells me he is "conservative" because it is convenient for him. A lawyer, and a UVA grad, he would find it difficult to advance in politics without playing to the individuals in his circle of friends. (And his record indicates that a career in politics is his goal). I see where he is originally from California, and I know it is presumptive, but that usually indicates a certain tendency to favor a Nanny State.

Having stated this, I'm somewhat perplexed about his efforts to further the implications of the Tebow bill. My guess is that he has a close connection to someone that he has a desire to please. Is his motivation to help a valued constituent? Does he wish to keep the financial support of one or more significant donors. Does he truly believe the Tebow bill is rightous, and is in the best interest of all citizens of the Commonwealth? Did he have his children educated in private schools and feel that they were wrongly denied access to taxpayer supported opportunities?

It would be interesting to know his true motivation. Agree or disagree with the Tebow bill, you have to admire his guts to introduce and support this lightning rod issue.

Like they say, "film at 11".

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

That's the impression I get of him. He is trying to cater to some soccer moms i think.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

In case anyone wants to see the wording of the Tebow bill, here is the summary.


SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
Students receiving home instruction; participation in interscholastic programs. Permits each local school board to deem eligible for participation in interscholastic programs, notwithstanding any bylaw, rule, regulation, or policy of any organization that currently organizes and governs interscholastic programs among the public high schools, any student who (i) is receiving home instruction; (ii) has demonstrated evidence of progress for two consecutive academic years; (iii) is in compliance with immunization requirements; (iv) is entitled to free tuition in a public school; (v) has not reached the age of 19 by August 1 of the current academic year; (vi) is an amateur who receives no compensation but participates solely for the educational, physical, mental, and social benefits of the activity; (vii) complies with all disciplinary rules and is subject to all codes of conduct applicable to all public high school athletes; and (viii) complies with all other rules governing awards, all-star games, maximum consecutive semesters of high school enrollment, parental consents, physical examinations, and transfers applicable to all high school athletes. The bill allows such students to be charged reasonable fees for participation.

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

To play for a school, you should attend that school. That is common sense.

 

[Coach G - FB]

What next? Private school kids? This is a pandora's box that must be kept shut.

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

Another bad part is that it can encourage students to drop out of school and continue to play under home school umbrella. Also home schoolers can practice all day instead of sitting in class. They can just be a full time athlete.

 

[Bvlowery]

I'm not going to get into a huge argument about this, as I seem to remember we did this dance last year on the same topic. I'll just say this- what an asinine comment. You very obviously have no idea how home schooling works, nor have you witnessed it first hand. That's not how home schooling works in the slightest. If it were, why would most home schooled students consistently score above their current grades when standardized testing? Come on, now. Don't be ridiculous.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

HR 6 can be out there with his comments sometimes, this is for sure. And I believe this is the case this time.

I will say that the protracted discussion last year really focused the attention on this subject. And that was a good thing. Some smart and insightful people made a lot of worthwhile comments. Most folks were passionate but respectful. Which is the way it should be. Let's hope it will stay that way this year.

 

[Bvlowery]

I agree that most comments last year were respectful. People will always have opposing viewpoints. As long as points and views are grounded in reality and are respectful, I have no problem with the discussion on any topic.

 

[cutnjump]

It's HR6 so you just come to expect those type of things and laugh it off. That being said I don't believe that most home school students scoring above their grade on standardized testing is necessarily validation of the system either. Either way both arguments are irrelevant to homeschoolers participating in public school athletics. The argument rises and falls on what kind of system can be set up to ensure a relatively level playing field. Seems to me there is significantly more room to abuse the system from the homeschool side of the equation than from the public school side and until checks and balances of a reasonable nature can be put in place allowing homeschool participation creates far more potential problems than it actually solves.

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

I personally know of 2 cases where a student dropped out of school under home school umbrella. Neither played sports, but they never did any school work. It would be easy for an athlete to drop out and practice their sport all day before reporting to hs for practice in afternoon, if stupid bill was law.