Starting August 28, all public schools in Missouri will be required to let homeschooled students try out for sports teams and extracurricular activities, thanks to Senate Bill 63 signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe on Wednesday.
This policy change has been in the works for over a decade. Previous efforts often stalled in the Missouri House, but this year’s bill gained strong momentum, especially with the support of the House majority floor leader, who was homeschooled himself.
Previously, school districts had the option to allow homeschooled students to participate, but only if those students took at least two classes at the high school. The new law removes that requirement and makes participation mandatory across all districts.
Sen. Ben Brown, R-Washington, sponsored the bill and played a key role in pushing it forward.
“He’s a tireless advocate for it, it wouldn’t have passed without his work,” said Zeke Spieker, a former homeschooled student who was never able to join a school sports team. Spieker and his family have supported the bill from the start.
“We dove into the political process and learned how to work a bill, how it’s passed,” Spieker said. “Every year we saw progress, but this year we finally had a breakthrough.”
Though Spieker aged out of eligibility, his family continued advocating for the bill to open doors for other students—like Addie Scull, a softball player from Moberly.
Scull’s family runs Show-Me Reindeer, LLC, a business that keeps them fully booked during the holiday season. “All of December is completely booked out. November, about halfway of that, is also booked out,” she said.
Because of their schedule, Addie couldn’t take the required two high school classes under the old rules. Now, she can finally try out for a team. “It’s going to offer me more opportunities to play. It’s going to make me a better player. It’s going to expose me to more people, more places, more of the sport,” she said.
Opponents of the bill argued that homeschoolers should form their own teams, but Spieker pointed out that in many rural parts of Missouri, that’s just not feasible. “The population base can’t support a homeschool team, much less a competitive one,” he said.
After the bill cleared the House in May, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) released a statement confirming it’s developing guidelines for schools. MSHSAA also said it will collaborate with the Missouri School Boards’ Association to help districts update their policies and educate local communities.
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