Advocate asks Oconee schools to waive $500 participation fee for homeschool students under pending House bill
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Summary
A community member asked the board to change district policy to eliminate a $500 fee charged to homeschool students participating in band and orchestra, citing House Bill 3802 and equal access provisions.
Kim Jackson told the board on Monday that House Bill 3802 — pending action by the governor — clarifies equal access for homeschool students to extracurricular activities including band and career and technical classes. Jackson said some homeschool students in Oconee face a $500 participation fee for band and orchestra that public school students do not pay and asked the district to change its policy to remove the barrier.
Jackson said the House Education Committee passed the bill unanimously and that local state Representative Adam Duncan supported the legislation. She asked the board to alter district policy now to reflect the bill’s intent and cited specific bill language that would prohibit districts from charging a participation fee to a homeschool or governor school student that is not charged to other public school participants.
Board members acknowledged the request and said the district will consider policy changes; no formal action was taken during the meeting.