Homeschoolers hurt by exclusion

Wantage — Imagine this: you’re the parent of a young Sussex-Wantage district student. He’s bright, articulate and curious. And yet the school tells you he’s not. In fact, they report he’s falling behind, needs to be held back, can’t keep pace with his class.
Believing in your son, and believing you possess no other options, you pull him out of public school and dive into the unknown world of homeschooling. It means upending your own world. It means employing your own resources. But it also means he thrives. He surpasses grade-level learning. He’s happy again.
Then he discovers a love for basketball. Your son lives for basketball. He wants nothing more than to play on the public school’s basketball team.
You research the idea and learn that New Jersey allows a homeschooled child to participate on his public school team as long as he resides in the district for which he is playing, obtains approval from his local school board and principal, demonstrates that he is academically qualified and is receiving an equivalent education, and complies with all requirements imposed on other members of the team
Your son tries out for the public-school team with every ounce of determination and skill he possesses. He makes the team. He’s beyond thrilled. You donate twice the requested amount for basketball uniforms imagining his younger brother might make the team, too, some day.
Then, one week into practices, your son’s told, he can't play for the team because he's homeschooled.
Your son closes himself in his room for a week, away from the world, not understanding what he did wrong.
Your heart breaks for your son. What can you do?
If you’re Sussex parent Christina Dragon, you contact your local state senator, explain the situation, work with him, and he backs your cause, introducing a bill in 2012. In fact, State Sen. Steve Oroho so strongly feels all children should be allowed to play sports in public schools that he extends the bill to include both vocational and charter-school children in addition to homeschooled children.
And that raises a red flag.
The 13,000-member strong Save Our Schools N.J., in concert with other public school-focused organizations, feels threatened by the possibility of charter and vocational schools using public school resources when they already receive funding to set up their own extra-curricular activities. They lobby against and protest the bill. It fails.
Your son hangs up his basketball shoes and gives up his basketball dreams.
Fast forward to 2016.
You’re now homeschooling all of your children because trying to juggle a public school schedule with your homeschool schedule proved too difficult. Also, you’ve witnessed the positive effect homeschooling had on your son. You know you can replicate that with his siblings.
Then your daughter discovers a love for cross-country running. She lives to run. She wants nothing more than to run on a cross-country team. But there’s no cross-country team through the homeschool community, nor any through the local recreation department. She asks if she can join the public-school team.
“This is different because they need runners,” Dragon said. "She won’t be taking someone’s spot on the team. They already have uniforms. I’ll drive her to meets. There’s no cost to the school.”
So Dragon approached the school board and begged that they accept her daughter.
On Nov. 30, 2016, by an outstanding majority, the board votes against it.
Why?
One board member says they made their own choice when they decided to homeschool.
“But it’s not that we didn’t choose public education,” Dragon said. “it’s just that it was no longer an option for us. There are kids for whom public school just isn’t a good fit. And shouldn’t the school be happy we’re not burdening classrooms that are already struggling with teacher-student ratios?”
“Would you want a homeschooled child taking another child’s spot on the public school team?” asks a board member.
“Look at Stanhope” said fellow homeschool parent Allison Orsi. "The board added verbiage that stated ‘when spots are available’ so that wouldn’t be an issue. Sussex-Wantage could do the same.”
“What’s next?” says a board member, referring to charter schools and private schools, “It has to be everybody or nobody.”
But the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association states private and parochial schools are not included in the exception that applies to homeschooled children.
“What if somebody were to drop out of school for three years then want to play on the team?” Asks a board member, “how do we stop that?”
“Do they really think there’ll be an influx of kids who’ve dropped out of school for three years suddenly trying out for Sussex Middle School sports teams?” Dragon asks incredulously.
“We don’t get money from Trenton for these kids," states a board member.
According to Dragon, the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services executed a fiscal estimate, showing no cost burden to public schools for students taking a reserved spot on the team, and minimal cost for a spot that would have been unfulfilled. She even said she'll pay for the uniform.
So what does it come down to?
“Bias,” Dragon said, “and how do I fight that?”
The board's next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 21. Orsi posted a call to the homeschool community to show up and let the homeschool community’s voices be heard.
Dragon can't attend. Another day, another time, but not then. As much as she said she wanted to be there, other family commitments required her to be elsewhere.
Meanwhile, her little girl removes her running shoes, walks to her room, and closes the door.