Video: Tim Tebow home-school bill

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was a home-schooled student, playing sports in Florida's public schools before gaining fame with the Florida Gators. But Alabama's home-schooled students aren't allowed equal access to extra-curricular activities in public or private schools.

Would you ever consider homeschooling your children?

For some parents, the academic end of it seems overwhelming. For others, the fact that their children can't play sports in public school is a major deterrent.

In Alabama there are more than 25,000 home-schoolers, and that number continues to grow.

Some states allow those students equal access to public or private school extracurricular activities like sports. For instance, Florida, which produced Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

Alabama does not allow equal access for home-schoolers. But that could change if a piece of legislation called the Tim Tebow Bill goes through.

He represents the hopes and dreams of future star athletes. Tim Tebow: winning quarterback for the Florida Gators, Heisman Trophy winner, home-schooler.

Home-school parent Patti Ketcham said, “I think looking at Tim Tebow, even you see that he was able to be home-schooled, and yet he was able to go an play at a level that he needed to play because he was very very talented. I think when you've got talent it's sad not to be able to let them develop their talent.”

Patti Ketcham home-schooled all nine of her children. But unlike Tim Tebow, her son Philip doesn't have the option of being home-schooled and playing for a public or private school here in Alabama.

That's why in the 10th grade he made a change and enrolled in a private school to play football. Philip said, “I loved playing sports with my home-schooled friends but I wanted something more. I wanted to see if if I was good enough to play with the best of the best and I really just wanted to step out there to see if I could do it."

Florida, where Tebow played for his high school football team, is one of 24 states that allows equal access, meaning home-schoolers can participate in public or private school sports or extracurricular activities.

Right now, Alabama's High School Athletic Association prohibits such a move. But that could change.

The Tim Tebow Bill was first introduced to the Alabama legislature in 2005. Basically it would allow home-schooled children equal access. Alabama is one of nine other states currently considering such legislation.

Bill Snuggs is the co-founder of Evangel Christian School in Shelby County, an umbrella school for home-schoolers. Snuggs says the Tebow Bill is important. “I think the more options that home-schooler has to participate in athletics the better."

In Alabama a home-schooler must be taught by a state certified tutor or teacher or enrolled in a church school like Evangel. Established in 2004, enrollment has grown by 75 percent. Why? In part, Snuggs says, because it offers home-schoolers a chance to play competitive football, basketball, baseball, softball, even cheerleading, yearbook staff and other extracurricular activities just like those in public and private schools.

Roecker Melick is a home-schooled student and an athlete in Evangel’s sports program. He said, “We work out just as hard we play four days a week with a game on Friday we burn it out we're not just messing around out there."

Stephen Davis plays on the same team. He said, “We are just as competitive really but I've never been to public school or anything so I don't really know the difference.”

Luke Webb plays basketball and football for Evangel. He said, "I really like it because you don't have to put in the amount of time you do at public school, you know you're there everyday after school practicing but really the level of competitiveness isn't really that much worse." But Luke said he has no desire to play at the collegiate level.

Luke’s dad, Steve, supports the Tebow Bill. “If home schooled families pay taxes to support public schools which we do. Then the home-schooled family should have the opportunity for their kids to attend public school in terms of sports, it just makes sense."

But if home-schoolers had a chance to play at the public school level, would they? In states that support equal access, only 3-5 percent of eligible home schooled students try out for public school teams.

Sandy Snuggs, co-founder of Evangel Christian School, said, “Most of our athletes aren't just athletes. With their community involvement their church involvement some of them a juggling three or four different sports and they can still do that in a home-school environment that has athletics.”

Steve Webb said, "Your average athlete if you ask them, if you said would you rather be on a state championship team and not play or would you rather be on a small team and if not start, play every game every time they probably would say I want to play ball and that's what home schooling allows them to do.”

So if Tim Tebow had never had the opportunity to play for his high school team and get noticed by college recruiters, would he be the star athlete he is today? We may never know, but at least he had a chance to play on a bigger field.

Right now the Tim Tebow Bill, referred to as Senate Bill 329 and House Bill 334, is stuck in house and senate education committees and cannot be brought to a full vote by Alabama's legislature.

Only three members of the education committee have come out in support of the bill.

We tried to contact several of those who voted against it. Some did not return our phone calls, others declined our offer to talk about the bill. If you'd like to contact legislators yourself, their information is here.