Posted on 06/18/2005 8:15:49 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Before the parade passes her by, Tiffany Hasley will stand up for her right to perform with the Beatrice High School marching band. She'll be on the corner of 13th and Court streets in Beatrice at 8:30 a.m. this morning, all lined up for today's Homestead Days Parade.
Clarinet in hand, standing tall in her stiff new band shoes, she plans to leave quietly when school officials tell her she cannot march. Because the home-schooled eighth-grader does not want to make a scene, just a point. That is: Home-school students should be allowed to participate in any public school activity, as long as they pay taxes and live within the school district.
"I'm not in tears," she said. "But I'm kind of mad. My band teacher says I'm a good student. And I am first-chair clarinet."
Beatrice High School officials told Tiffany last month that she would not be able to participate in band next year as a ninth-grader. The school bars home-school students from being in activities regulated by the Nebraska School Activities Association.
Tiffany's parents, Ron and Vicki Hasley, plan to fight the school's decision, maybe even in court. But, at least for this summer, they figured she could still play with the band.
That's not the case, they learned Wednesday when band director Bruce Greenwell told Tiffany just before practice that Superintendent Dale Kruse decided she should sit out Saturday's parade. On Friday, the Hasleys received a formal letter from Kruse stating the same.
"They say she isn't registered, but no one has to be registered until school starts this fall," said Ron Hasley. "Really, quote me that policy. Show me that statute."
Both Kruse and BHS activities director Randy Coleman were unavailable for comment Friday.
But Roger Harris, attorney for the Beatrice school board, said the decision is consistent with school policy. No one can play in the band unless they are registered, full-time students at the school, he said.
"Even though marching in the parade is an informal thing, it's not open to just anyone," Harris said.
"Say a student from Wymore wanted to march. Would anyone care? Probably not. But the perception is, ‘This is the Beatrice High School band,' and we have to protect that."
Whether homeschool students can be in marching band is at the discretion of each school, said Jim Tenopir, director of the NSAA.
Band members can practice or perform at non-NSAA events such as parades or high school football games. But for competitive activities, the NSAA only allows students from accredited schools to compete against other students.
NSAA eligibility rules ensure that high school students keep up their grades and attend school regularly, or they cannot compete, Tenopir said.
Enforcing the very specific and rigid rules among homeschoolers would be impossible, he said.
"You are probably not going to hear a parent say, ‘I caught my kid smoking so please don't let him play football,'" Tenopir said.
But some state senators would like to change both school policies and NSAA rules to include homeschool students.
Legislative bills addressing that issue have been introduced for the past few years, most recently by Sens. Phil Erdman and Mike Foley. But none of the bills have made it out of committee.
Ron Hasley said he's "a constitution kind of guy," who will pursue the issue, not only for his daughter but for other homeschool students.
"I pay taxes," he said. "I'm asking for a service, and I'm not getting it. I hope what happens here sets precedence for the state."
Actually, I care about all of the things you mention. But if someone isn't enrolled in the public schools, he/she has no right to participate in their events. The demand this girl is making is exactly the same kind of thing that liberals do: I want it, therefore I have a right to it, regardless of the rules. My message was written out of concern for home-schoolers, and victims of the public schools. The particular beef that was raised here just gives the enemies of home-schoolers an excuse to ignore their legitimate complaints.
She had already been allowed to participate in the music classes there.
They shouldn't have. I didn't say she's half anything. I said not in the school then NOT in the school. Anybody that doesn't go to the school for ANY reason shouldn't be a member of ANY school activity or club. It's simple logical sense. If she went to a different school in the same district they wouldn't let her be in the marching band at this school, if she went to a school in a different district they wouldn't let her in, if she went to a private or charter school they wouldn't let her in. Why should she get to join because she's home schooled? Not in the school means not in the school, it's pretty obvious and simple.
Ir people didn't have that view regarding what their rights are, home schooling would still be illegal. In recent history, home educators have had to fight for their rights and get the 'rules' changed. Even now (and I can attest to this personally) administrators want and ask for information that it is illegal for them to ask for regarding home schooling.
I agree, the public schools mainly prepare children to be good factory workers, and other low end jobs. While wealthy Americans send their children to private schools.
Sure, extracurricular activities may be valuable to kids, but if a kid wants to play, shouldn't his family pay the costs associated with the program? Is it really fair to make taxpayers pay so kids can do extracurricular activities, and then limit these taxpayer-funded activities to kids who choose to cost taxpayers even more by attending taxpayer-funded schools, while excluding those who pay for their own education?
For every child who leaves the public school system, the taxpayers save the cost of educating that child. In my school district, by homeschooling my kids, I'm saving the taxpayers $36,000 a year.
beavus -
YOU should get that money, at least up to the portion you paid in your taxes. At the very least you should get that money for directed spending toward your child's education.
Yes if the mother is staying at home teaching, the kids she should get sent the 36,000$. And beyond that if she wants to bring in other kids she should get the 12k each as well.
Public school and the militant communist public school unions it has spawned, are perfect examples of the failure of marxist ideas. Dramatically less freedom, and poor results.
ping
No expense is spared for team after team in sports and band.. and their trips around the country.
Yet the schools are always crying because they are short on money.. so short infact they can't afford new textbooks for all the kids.
These threads crack me up -- in a morbid kind of way. The ultimate goal of many of these people is to not only eat their seed corn, but burn down the barn.
All over the world folks and government officials are pushing for more education, better schools, more advanced classes. Not us. We're saying, "to hell with gubmint schools."
If you only knew the degree to which the American public schools have sunk, you would understand. Thank God my children are adults, or I'd have torn my hair out and would be home schooling them also. It is down right scary how our public education system has plummeted. The United States used to be first in the world with the first rate education we provided our youth. Now we're lucky to rate in the bottom three world wide.
Rather than teaching traditional math, science, and English, schools spend all of their time teaching environmental hogwash, revisionist history, electives (band, chior, athletics, cheerleading, etc) and touchy freely crap. I really fear for my grandchildren and the next generation.
I wouldn't begrudge homeschooled kids of a time to socialize with others in an elective if I were you. Their parents have paid school taxes and that's the least the public school system can do for their children.
Actually, communities that have the will and the money are now producing world class students. The problem is, few communities have the will or the money.
How so? Do homeschooling parents uniformly register with the USDOE? It may sound like a smart-ass question, but I'm honestly thrown by the idea.
Therefore home educated kids should be afforded the same amenities that public schooled kids are in the district in which they reside.
They are afforded the same amenities. Amenities called public schools. Their parents opted out. People make choices, and choices have costs.
Parents are a home schooled kids teacher. The school would need to respect their standards of what academic success is, just like they would a public school teachers standards.
So your idea of rigirous academic standards is "mommy says?" Please. At the same time as public schols are held to higher standards of accountability, you'd hold up a homeschooling mom's assessment of her kid's standing as beyond question?
For a parent's word to carry the same weight as a public school record, there would have to be some kind of curriculum standards and a testing regimen. And as I mentioned before, if a lot of homeschoolers were comfortable with that level of government intrusion, they wouldn't be homeschoolers.
Public schools offer the use of instruments and amps that not all people would be able to purchase if they wanted to organize a community band. Homeschooling parents pay taxes for those instruments. Their kids should be eligible to use them if they want to.
Fair enough. As I mentioned in a previous post, I play tuba, and I used school-owned instruments until I was out of college. How about this -- the instruments, equipment etc. are placed in a central pool, and are available for use by public schools, community groups, etc. I know my high school band room had equipment sitting around that could have been put to better use.
But the claim of taxpayer rights is a weak one. I pay taxes for police cruisers, fire engines, ambulances and helicopters. Yet they don't let me take them out for a spin.
Amen! I have horror stories and battle scars to prove that I was among a handful of parents who went to war with our school district over academic scheduling/content. This was approx twelve years ago and we ended up having to compromise because of the HUGE leftwing cult in academia.
Like I said, if I had it to do over, I'd educate my children myself or join a home school group. I liken the lack of good public education for our children to the silent killer of our country, and I'm not kidding. There are too many parents blinded by Johnny's and Susie's straight A's....
A good analogy is the 55 MPH speed limit. Congress taxed everyone, but only returned this money in the form of highway funds to states that agreed to limit the speed of their own citizens on their own roads to 55 MPH (i.e., accepted the Federal will on something that should legally be decided by the states). Similarly, the school boards tax everyone to pay for extracurriculars, and then limit these to people who choose to accept their conditions--participation in their public schools. Wouldn't it be better if, if the government is going to pay for something), it pay for teams, bands, or plays available to everyone in a certain town? Even if the school is going to have a team, shouldn't it be open to everyone (who qualifies) who lives in the region where he would attend that school if he chose public school?
I recognize that there is a tradition of school comaraderie with competetive events, but this originated with elite prep schools, and it was payed for by people who chose to pay for those schools. I'm sorry, but if the public schools want these same extracurriculars, only payed for not by participants but by taxpayers, they should have to sacrifice a little of this comaraderie and open them up to the public.
I'm late chiming in, so this might have been posted already. If so, consider it a reminder
Give them their tax dollars back. Hey! you're either in or out.
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