Rep. stands by bill to allow nonpublic students in public school activities

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: June 12, 2015

Rep. stands by bill to allow nonpublic students in public school activities

More than 2,200 signatures collected opposing proposal

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Rep. Bob Kulp, R-Stratford, still stands by legislation he proposed that, if passed, would allow nonpublic school students to participate in public school activities, including sports.

He suggested it could boost enrollment.

“Other states, neighboring states do this,” Kulp said. “I don’t think it’s changed the way sports and homeschools have operated. It’s about equal access.”

“I have a lot of parents passionate about this,” he added. “(Students) may actually like the school and increase enrollment. I see the potential that this could increase enrollment.”

Opponents of the bill, such as the WIAA and the Wisconsin Parents Association, couldn’t disagree more, as shown with more than 2,200 petition signatures wishing the bill be tossed.

“I see this as lose-lose legislation,” WIAA Executive Director Dave Anderson said. “It’s a solution that’s far worse than the problem.”

On Thursday, Anderson delivered a three-page letter with 11 signatures of representatives from Wisconsin Association of School Boards, the WIAA, Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association, to name a few, to the state capitol building.

The letter states, “Schoolbased athletic programs are not community or recreational youth sports programs and are not designed to provide the general public with programming like a YMCA or communitybased recreation program. Athletics and other extra-curricular activities offered in public schools (and in many private schools as well) are, as the name suggests, intended to supplement the school curriculum. In this regard, sports, music, forensics and other activities are viewed as an extension of the classroom and of the school day and are specific to each representative school or district.”

Tomi Fay Forbes, WPA representative for Washington, Dodge and Ozaukee counties, is tired of this type of legislation resurfacing.

“We don’t want any help or any changes,” she said. “We want things to stay the way they are.”

The legislation came about after the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee passed a motion May 19 to include Kulp’s proposal in the state budget.

That has rubbed people the wrong way.

“This style of leadership, if you want to call it leadership, is extremely disappointing,” Anderson said. Kulp said a date hasn’t been set on when the Assembly and Senate will vote on the budget, including Kulp’s proposal.

Kulp said last month the proposal has Gov. Scott Walker’s support.

“The idea of a homeschool kid or a kid at a private school should be eligible to play a sport at a public school doesn’t make any sense,” Anderson said.

When the proposal became public, the WIAA posted an online petition on its website. Anderson said more than 1,200 signatures were collected.

The WPA announced this week more than 1,100 petitions were signed by Sunday’s deadline.
This is the third time since 1999 this idea has been discussed as possible legislation, including most recently in 2013.
Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, drafted legislation in 2013 with the same goal in mind: Allow all students in a district an opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities, even if a student isn’t a student at the school.
“Homeschoolers have, for the last 30 years, let legislators know when there’s something we don’t like, we speak up,” Forbes said. “We let legislators know we don’t want this.”
State law says families must sign a form that commits to homeschool 875 hours a year in six subjects (social studies, science, math, health, reading and language arts) between Sept. 1 and Sept. 1 of the next year.
Homeschoolers report to the state’s Department of Public Instruction and not a school district.
Anderson doesn’t think it’s right that a small percentage of people should represent a larger population.
“The frustrating part is when the legislator who has authored the bill this time around says he’s had a dozen people talk with him about it and the Wisconsin Parents Association had over 1,000 signatures on their petition opposing this,” he said.
If passed, more than 100 years of practice in the WIAA may have to change as the law would conflict with the WIAA’s bylaws.
“This membership has served students quite well for more than 120 years,” Anderson said. “They have a lot to be proud of. It’ll be very disappointing to see the standards that have been put in place, that have guided young men and women for generations be compromised by this process.”