Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 248 By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Simon 581-02301-25 2025248c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to student participation in 3 interscholastic and intrascholastic extracurricular 4 sports; amending s. 1006.15, F.S.; specifying 5 conditions for a home education student to participate 6 in interscholastic athletics; revising the criteria a 7 private school student must meet to participate in a 8 sport at a Florida High School Athletic Association 9 (FHSAA) member school; deleting a provision limiting 10 which non-FHSAA member private school students are 11 eligible to participate in FHSAA sports; providing an 12 effective date. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15 16 Section 1.Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) and paragraphs 17 (a), (e), and (g) of subsection (8) of section 1006.15, Florida 18 Statutes, are amended to read: 19 1006.15Student standards for participation in 20 interscholastic and intrascholastic extracurricular student 21 activities; regulation. 22 (3) 23 (c)1.An individual home education student is eligible to 24 participate at the public school to which the student would be 25 assigned according to district school board attendance area 26 policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to 27 s. 1002.31, or may develop an agreement to participate at a 28 private school, in the interscholastic extracurricular 29 activities of that school, provided the following conditions are 30 met: 31 a.1.The home education student must meet the requirements 32 of the home education program pursuant to s. 1002.41. 33 b.2.During the period of participation at a school, the 34 home education student must demonstrate educational progress as 35 required in paragraph (b) in all subjects taken in the home 36 education program by a method of evaluation agreed upon by the 37 parent and the school principal which may include: review of the 38 students work by a certified teacher chosen by the parent; 39 grades earned through correspondence; grades earned in courses 40 taken at a Florida College System institution, university, or 41 trade school; standardized test scores above the 35th 42 percentile; or any other method designated in s. 1002.41. 43 c.3.The home education student must meet the same 44 residency requirements as other students in the school at which 45 he or she participates. 46 d.4.The home education student must meet the same 47 standards of acceptance, behavior, and performance as required 48 of other students in extracurricular activities. 49 e.5.The student must register with the school his or her 50 intent to participate in interscholastic extracurricular 51 activities as a representative of the school before 52 participation. A home education student must be able to 53 participate in curricular activities if that is a requirement 54 for an extracurricular activity. 55 f.6.A student who transfers from a home education program 56 to a public school before or during the first grading period of 57 the school year is academically eligible to participate in 58 interscholastic extracurricular activities during the first 59 grading period provided the student has a successful evaluation 60 from the previous school year, pursuant to sub-subparagraph b. 61 subparagraph 2. 62 g.7.Any public school or private school student who has 63 been unable to maintain academic eligibility for participation 64 in interscholastic extracurricular activities is ineligible to 65 participate in such activities as a home education student until 66 the student has successfully completed one grading period in 67 home education pursuant to sub-subparagraph b. subparagraph 2. 68 to become eligible to participate as a home education student. 69 2.An individual home education student is eligible to 70 participate on an interscholastic athletic team at any public 71 school in the school district in which the student resides, 72 provided the student meets the conditions specified in sub 73 subparagraphs a. through g. 74 (8)(a)The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) 75 shall, in cooperation with each district school board and its 76 member private schools, facilitate a program in which a middle 77 school or high school student who attends a private school is 78 eligible to participate in an interscholastic or intrascholastic 79 sport at a member public high school, a member public middle 80 school, a member 6-12 public school, or a member private school, 81 as appropriate for the private school students grade level, if: 82 1.The private school in which the student is enrolled is 83 not a member of the FHSAA or the private school in which the 84 student is enrolled is a member of the FHSAA and does not offer 85 the sport in which the student wishes to participate. 86 2.The private school student meets the guidelines for the 87 conduct of the program established by the FHSAAs board of 88 directors and the district school board or member private 89 school. At a minimum, such guidelines must provide a deadline 90 for each sport by which the private school students parents 91 must register with the member school in writing their intent for 92 their child to participate at that school in the sport. 93 (e)Any non-FHSAA member private school that has a student 94 who wishes to participate in this program must make all student 95 records, including, but not limited to, academic, financial, 96 disciplinary, and attendance records, available upon request of 97 the FHSAA. 98 (g)Only students who are enrolled in non-FHSAA member 99 private schools consisting of 200 students or fewer are eligible 100 to participate in the program in any given academic year. 101 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.