FORT THOMAS, Ky. — For sophomore Benjamin Barnes-Israel, qualifying for four elite swim events should be a ticket to the state meet. Instead, one rule is keeping him out of the pool.
“I won these meets last year,” Benjamin Barnes-Israel said. “I just don’t understand why I can’t go compete in high school with kids who are similar to my speed?”
It’s the same frustration felt by wrestlers Paityn, Lana, Landen and Kuper McIntyre, whose mother Lisa has become one of the most visible faces behind the Let Them Play KY campaign. The grassroots campaign supports House Bill 421, also called the Play Fair Kentucky Act, which would allow homeschool students to try out for public school teams.
WATCH: Here's what supports and opponents of the house bill are saying
“They want to be able to wrestle in high school, and that’s not going to be an option,” McIntyre said. “Their learning style is best at home because of dyslexia, but now we have to choose between their education and their sport.”
McIntyre has collected more than 2,600 petition signatures in just over two weeks, but there has been no movement on the bill.
“They can compete in individual sports up to state and regionals,” she said. “So why are they closing the door at the most important time for these athletes?”
Parents like Rebekah Barnes-Israel hope Kentucky eventually “catches up with the rest of the United States." She says that a John Hopkins study found more than 30 states allow homeschoolers to join public school teams.
“It’s time for Kentucky to step up and see what other states are doing and support our children,” Rebekah Barnes-Israel said.
When asked about the criticism that a school isn’t good enough to educate her children but is good enough for them to play on its teams, McIntyre said the issue is access to resources, not the quality of teachers, when discussing how she works with her children one-on-one.
“I have no problem with teachers,” she said. “They can only do so much within the capacity that they have, and for my kids, three out of my four with varying degrees of dyslexia, the resources just aren’t there. That’s why they learn best at home.”
Jessica Svec, a homeschool parent in Northern Kentucky, said the ban has forced families into making impossible choices.
Her oldest daughter returned to public school to wrestle on the high school team.
“I think the biggest and most frustrating misconception is that people think we don’t want our kids around public school kids, as if there’s something wrong with public school kids,” Svec said. “We don’t think that. We don’t think public school teachers are inadequate or that the school system is inadequate. I know every family is different, homeschooling has given us the gift of time, and there’s nothing better than spending more time every single day with my girls.”
House Bill 421, co-sponsored by Rep. Steven Doan, said the legislation is designed to give homeschool students the same athletic opportunities as their public school peers.
“It allows homeschool students to participate in high school sports,” Doan said. “It just opens the door as it does for any other kid. It gives those kids an opportunity to connect with kids in the larger community.”
The bill would also require homeschool athletes to meet participation standards set by their local school, the same rules that enrolled students must follow.
Doan said he doesn’t expect the measure to move forward this year. The legislative session ends on April 15.
“I don’t expect it at a late stage to get a hearing,” he said. “This legislation has been blocked just about every year it’s come up.”
He attributed opposition to certain lobbying groups and legislators who want homeschool students regulated, believe athletes should attend the school they play for and worry about liability, insurance issues and funding.
Doan said the funding argument comes up often because districts do not receive state aid for homeschool students.
“I believe that taxpayers have a right to access the government entities that they fund,” Doan said. “Those families still pay taxes that fund schools even if their children don’t go to public schools.”
Commissioner Julian Tackett said KHSAA is a membership-based organization with 291 member schools and that any change would take legislative action because current law charges the association with regulating interscholastic sports between schools and requires full-time enrollment to compete.
“This is a privilege, not a right,” Tackett said. “Those students who attend a school have the privilege of participating. It would take a legislative act to make changes to that.”
Tackett said KHSAA has discussed options for more than a decade with lawmakers, but administrators oppose the current bill because it “does not have any accountability for the student in terms of academics that even compares” to full-time enrolled students.
Right now, he said, every participating student must have their grades checked weekly to remain eligible.
“They have to continually make progress academically,” Tackett said. “That’s always been the big issue, academic accountability.”
He said other states have found models that work by requiring some tie to the academic day, such as part-time enrollment. But the KHSAA membership has been “pretty strong and firm” about opposing a completely open system.
Tackett said KHSAA's “door is not shut” on the idea.
“There are definitely paths there,” he said. “It’s going to take some people coming to the table with different ideas than simply throwing the barn door open and saying anybody can come play.”
He also clarified that current rules already allow homeschool athletes to compete against KHSAA members in the regular season, for example, in track meets, but postseason competition like state championships remains a member-school benefit.
Some school leaders also argue that letting homeschool students compete could be unfair. Walton Verona Independent Schools Superintendent Matt Baker said athletic programs “are a privilege earned through daily commitment to our classrooms and school culture,” and that it wouldn’t be fair to hold enrolled students to strict standards while letting others participate without the same expectations.
The parents say Kentucky risks falling behind as other states open their doors to homeschool athletes.
"One of my brothers did receive a partial sports scholarship for lacrosse, but he had to work extra hard to get that compared to other students who would have just gone to the postseason events or been scouted more easily than a homeschool student in Kentucky. I feel like we're behind the times," Benjamin Barnes-Israel said.
