Committee adopts amendments clarifying extracurricular eligibility for nontraditional students and passes bill out of committee

A Senate education committee on Tuesday considered and amended a bill governing participation in district-sponsored activities by students who are enrolled in private schools, virtual programs or are homeschooled. The committee adopted several amendments and passed the bill as amended out of committee.

Representative Brantley offered an amendment to change the bill's effective language so the statute would take effect upon publication in the Kansas Register rather than being tied to the statute book. The amendment carried on a voice vote.

Committee counsel Jason explained a separate amendment that clarifies a student who participates in a CASIA-regulated activity at a public school is permitted to participate in "district-sponsored ancillary activities" directly related to that activity. The amendment adds a new paragraph allowing a local board of education to adopt policies governing participation in events that are not directly related to the regulated activity, leaving those broader decisions to local discretion.

Another amendment would require a student seeking eligibility to demonstrate satisfactory progress by passing not fewer than five subjects (later amended to "units") in the semester immediately preceding participation. Committee members debated how units, subjects and credits are counted; Revisor Long and Dr. Harwood explained that CASIA and the State Board typically look at "units," which lets each school define the counting method. Representative Miller offered and the committee adopted a substitute motion to change the statutory language from "subjects" to "units."

Committee members also debated how the bill would affect homeschool cooperatives and private-school classes taken for a single subject. Committee counsel and Dr. Harwood explained that the statute and the amendment are intended to apply to CASIA-regulated activities and that whether a homeschool cooperative or private program is a CASIA member would determine eligibility; a superintendent on the line said she was not aware of any homeschool co-ops that are CASIA members. The committee noted that affidavits provided by homeschool programs are attestations rather than independently verified transcripts.

A later amendment addressed the scenario in which a student withdraws from a brick-and-mortar school to enroll in a homeschool or virtual program. That amendment allows a student who withdraws while in good academic and behavior standing to continue participation and also includes a sentence allowing limited participation such as practice during an ineligibility period if a district permits it. Committee members said the language was intended to prevent gaming of the system by withdrawing students while preserving a district's flexibility to let students practice.

Representative Hubert moved to pass the bill as amended; Representative Brantley seconded. The committee voted to pass the bill out of committee. Members recorded as voting no were Representative Featherston, Representative Haskins, Representative Wynne, and Representative Stogstill.

The committee adopted multiple technical and substantive amendments described above; members asked the reviser to incorporate the committee's intent into the statutory text.

The committee concluded discussion and sent the measure forward as amended.