NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A389
SPONSOR: Stirpe (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to allowing school
districts to permit home-schooled students to participate in district
interscholastic sports
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
To allow home-schooled students to participate in interscholastic
athletics.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1 amends the education law by adding a new section 3235, which
allows school districts to permit home-schooled students to participate
in district interscholastic sports.
Section 2 provides that the act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION::
Currently, home-schooled students are prohibited from participating in
interscholastic sports even though they are entitled to attend the
schools that have the sport., It is fundamentally unfair to prohibit
home-schooled students from participating in an important aspect of
childhood development merely because their parents or guardians choose
to home school them. The students have every right to attend the school,
and there is no reduction in school taxes for parents or guardians who
home-school their children.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
2013-2014: A.6814/S.1715 - Referred to Education
2015-2016: A.3678-A/S.2175 - Referred to Education
2017-2018: A.445-A/S.465-A - Referred to Education/passed senate
2019-2020: A.706-A/S.5472-A - Referred to rules; senate Education
2021-2022: A.4775/S.8416 - Referred to Education
2023-2024: A.1072/S.1010 - Referred to Education
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS::
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
389
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE, BENEDETTO, COOK, PEOPLES-STOKES, ROSEN-
THAL, WOERNER, CRUZ, TAYLOR, HUNTER, FALL, LUPARDO, SANTABARBARA,
BRABENEC, MIKULIN, MILLER, MORINELLO, RA, WALSH, GIGLIO, MANKTELOW,
BARCLAY, FITZPATRICK, SMULLEN, DeSTEFANO, McDONOUGH, McMAHON, GALLAGH-
ER, BUTTENSCHON, DURSO, LEVENBERG, CLARK, WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. HAWLEY, RAMOS, STECK, TAGUE -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to allowing school
districts to permit home-schooled students to participate in district
interscholastic sports
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3235
2 to read as follows:
3 § 3235. Home instruction students and interscholastic sports. The
4 board of education or trustee of a school district may establish and
5 adopt a policy to allow a student who receives home instruction to try
6 out for and participate on a school district's interschool athletic
7 team. The policy shall include, but not be limited to the following
8 provisions:
9 1. The student shall be required to meet all the same responsibilities
10 and standards of behavior and eligibility for practice and competition
11 as a public school student enrolled in the school district participating
12 on the interschool athletic team including but not limited to the health
13 examination, immunization, and age eligibility requirements;
14 2. The student shall annually meet all academic requirements pursuant
15 to section 100.10 of commissioner regulations; provided, however, that a
16 board of education or trustee of a school district may require addi-
17 tional academic eligibility requirements;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01490-01-5
A. 389 2
1 3. The student shall only be eligible to try out for and participate
2 on their school district of residence's interschool athletic team; and
3 4. Transportation shall be provided by the parent or guardian of the
4 student.
5 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
