Texas Senate OKs bill allowing home-schoolers to compete in public school sports

The Texas Senate passed a bill on Saturday that allows home-schooled students to compete in public school sports.

The proposed legislation gives equal opportunity to students who are not enrolled in public schools to participate in the University Interscholastic League, which lets students participate in sports and other activities.

The bill, which passed on a 16-14 vote, is named after Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Tim Tebow, who participated in high school sports in Florida while being home-schooled, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Opponents of the bill argue that this might let student-athletes abuse the system and train all day without going to class. 

Texas Sen. Angela Paxton (R) told the Dallas Morning News that the legislation would help students have the opportunity to “learn, grow and develop their gifts.”

Democratic Sen. José Menéndez worried that the bill would enact the “no pass, no play” rule, which lets students still participate in sports even though they’re failing their class. 

“I am worried we may be opening a huge can of worms,” Menéndez told the Morning News. 

The bill now heads back to Texas’s House of Representatives for possible changes.