A Texas man who took hostages in a northwestern Indiana realty office and held police at bay for several hours suffered three gunshot wounds before dying, likely from two different weapons, a coroner said Saturday. Roy L.INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana House voted 60-30 Monday to allow home-school students to play for public high school sports teams.
“This is nothing more than a bill about fairness,” said Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, a co-author on House Bill 1399. “Parents of these home-schoolers pay taxes to support the schools fully.”
Votes on the bill did not fall along party lines. Locally, all area representatives supported the legislation except Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne.
Currently, 21 states allow home-schoolers to participate in public school sports, including Arizona, Colorado and Florida. The most famous example is Tim Tebow – Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in college and now playing in the NFL – who has become a symbol for the movement.
In Indiana, the Indiana High School Athletic Association requires students be enrolled in at least three public school classes per day to be eligible for sports.
House Bill 1399 would supersede the IHSAA rule and allow Hoosier students who have been home-schooled for at least the previous three years to play sports at the local high school where they live. The three-year provision is to prevent students from going back-and-forth in the public/private system.
Home-school students would have to pass a nationally recognized test annually to assess their basic skills and abide by any code of conduct the local public high school has for athletes.
By comparison, public school students must meet certain grade requirements throughout a school year to remain eligible for sports.
“This is a very good bill because it’s about kids. In every one of your districts there’s somebody being home-schooled who would like to play or participate in IHSAA athletics,” said Rep. Eric Turner, R-Marion. “This bill gives those kids an opportunity to excel. I don’t see any disadvantage to doing this.”
The IHSAA is against the bill.
And opponents on Monday said the measure essentially allows parents of home-school kids to opt out of many public school regulations and requirements but still enjoy the benefits of sports teams.
“This is a small bill but it’s a very revealing bill and it troubles me,” said Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis. “You can just say, ‘I like this part of a public school system, but I don’t want to be part of the public school system.’ It’s a fundamental change in the system. Why not just cherry-pick the public education system? That’s what this does.”
Rep. Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes, also warned legislators of the calls they might receive as soon as longtime public school students lose their spot on public school teams to home-school athletes.
The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
