By Steven Allen Adams, For The Intelligencer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill to allow home school, private school and parochial school students the opportunity to play sports at public schools made it through the West Virginia Senate Tuesday for the second time in five years.
Senate Bill 131 passed the Senate in a 25-9 vote with one member absent and six Democratic senators crossing party lines to vote yes and two Republicans voting no.
The bill now heads to the House of Delegates, which has pushed back against similar legislation.
Also known as the Tim Tebow Act, SB 131 would give home schoolers and private or religious school students the chance to participate in extracurricular activities regulated by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission as long as the activity isn’t already offered at the private and parochial school. …
“One of my core beliefs, one that drives me, is I want to do everything to ensure that we’re meeting the needs of all the kids of West Virginia,” said Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson. “This legislation would allow students that attend private school or home school that meet certain criteria to participate in public school sports or band. We need to tune out all the political noise surrounding this issue and focus on the children.” …