WFISD School Board to consider allowing home-schoolers in UIL activities
The Wichita Falls ISD School Board plans to vote Monday on whether to allow home-schooled students to take part in the district's UIL activities.
Some trustees see it as a possible way to help beef up the district's declining enrollment.
The new law authored by state Rep. James Frank of Wichita Falls went into effect Sept. 1, making it possible for home-schoolers — but not private-school students — to take part in UIL programs if a district approves it.
Last year, WFISD trustees voted 4-3 against allowing home-schooled kids' participation in activities such as football, softball, soccer, volleyball, band and academic-related activities for the 2020-2021 school year.
The same three trustees who supported the idea in that July 19, 2021, vote spoke in favor of it during a meeting Tuesday.
Place 1 Trustee Bob Payton agreed it could open the door to bring new families into the district, a possibility floated by Associate Superintendent Peter Griffiths during his presentation.
“Our community’s not a fast-growth community," Payton said. "I think easily there’s 1,500 to 2,000 K-12 homeschooled students in our community.”
More:Home-schoolers shut out of UIL activities in WFISD for 2020-2021 school year
Place 3 Trustee Mark Lukert said: “We’re not a fast-growth district, but we’re fast growth with home school and private school and all those.”
At-large Trustee Katherine McGregor and Lukert said they supported allowing home-schoolers' participation for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Griffiths told the School Board a non-enrolled student taking part in activities must participate in the school that is in the student's attendance zone.
He said home-schooled students' participation won't affect UIL alignment until 2024.
Last academic year, 21 out of 1,029 school systems in Texas approved varsity participation for home-schoolers as allowed by House Bill 547 or the "Tim Tebow Law," Griffiths told trustees. That is about 2 percent of Texas districts.
Griffiths said WFISD cut the budgets for athletics and fine arts travel and equipment for 2022-2023, and there are unknowns to consider, such as a possible hike in uniform and staffing costs, depending on participation.
"We don't know. There might be three kids. There might be 100 kids," he said.
One concern is that allowing participation in UIL activities for unenrolled students could ramp up the decline in enrollment, Griffiths said.
WFISD is grappling with an estimated enrollment drop of 800 students since the pandemic began in March 2020, a decline that led to a reduction in state funding for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.
Griffiths said WFISD had 234 home-schooled high school students from August 2021 to April 2022.
Parents might move students to a surrounding school in reaction if a home-schooler takes the place of an enrolled child on a team or in a band, he said.
In addition, there is the inequity of no-pass, no-play rules for district students while home-schoolers only have to have a parental note saying they are passing, Griffiths said during his presentation.
But home-schoolers might decide to enroll in WFISD after taking part in UIL activities, and allowing their participation would help home-school families feel connected to the district while appealing to community interest, he said.
Griffiths said trustees have the option of voting on the allowing home-schoolers' participation or maintaining the status quo of not allowing their participation.
Last year, School Board President Mike Rucker, At-large Trustee Elizabeth Yeager, Place 4 Trustee Dale Harvey and Place 5 Trustee Tom Bursey voted against it.
Back then, Yeager said she was not saying no forever, but there were many unknowns at the time.
More:Some home-schoolers wary of Tebow bill
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: WFISD trustees discuss allowing home-schoolers into UIL activities
