It took advocates several years to make it happen, but home school students are now eligible to play for their local public school teams. The legislation became law recently when Governor Brian Kemp signed SB 42 which allows students in grades six through 12 to participate in any extracurricular and interscholastic activities such as band, drama, or other school clubs when they take at least one online course through the local school system.
“The Dexter Mosley,” previously known as the “Tim Tebow Bill” was first introduced in the Georgia legislature several years ago. More than 25 states allow home-schooled students to participate in sports and activities. Such laws are typically called Tim Tebow bills, named for the University of Florida football star who was a home-schooler when he played football for a Florida public high school.
The Georgia bill is named for Dexter Mosley, a Dunwoody resident and former Auburn University football player who died in 2019 at age 51, leaving a wife and six children. His widow, Chenelle Mosley, said after Kemp signed the law that “I know he’s up in heaven, elated.” She said she hoped the measure would reduce the divide between home-schooled students and traditional public school students”
“I was incredibly honored to stand beside Governor Kemp as he signed Senate Bill 42, also known as the Dexter Mosely Act, into law,” said Senator Bruce Thompson (R-White). “This legislation is six years in the making and will expand athletic opportunities to more of Georgia’s youth. While homeschooled students are typically taught the same subjects as their peers in public schools, they have previously been deemed ineligible from participating in team sports, solely because they are homeschooled.
“Additionally, their parents pay the same taxes that fund these public schools. Thanks to this new law, homeschooled students will now have the same opportunities that their public school friends have,” Thompson added.
Thompson has been working on the bill for several years. Representative John Carson (R-Marietta) and Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) were also instrumental in this bill becoming law.
