Homeschool Sports Eligibility in Indiana
Sometimes. Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Rule 12-5 lets a homeschooled student play for the public school serving the family's residence, but only if that school agrees and the student meets the rule's conditions.
How homeschool participation works
Indiana has no statute that opens public school teams to homeschoolers. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) calls extracurricular participation a local decision for each school corporation.
IHSAA treats a homeschool as a non-public, non-accredited school. Its Rule 12-5 gives a student enrolled full time in such a school a path to eligibility at the Indiana public school serving the student's residence. The IHSAA says plainly that the rule does not require the public school to enroll the student or to let the student join its athletic program.
A homeschooler who takes some or all courses online may instead seek eligibility under Rule 12-6, the virtual education school rule. Enrolling in the one required class does not count as a transfer, so no IHSAA transfer report is needed.
Rules that decide participation
Three years of homeschool
Your child has been enrolled in the homeschool for the previous three years in a row.
One class in the building
Your child enrolls in and attends at least one full-credit subject offered inside the public school building.
Academic eligibility each grading period
You show the IHSAA that your child meets its scholarship rule, Rule 18-1, for each of the school's grading periods. That rule asks for passing grades and credit in at least 70 percent of the maximum full-credit subjects, with at least four full-credit courses.
State examinations
Your child completes any statewide examinations IDOE authorizes.
Spirit of the rules
Your child, your homeschool, and the public school together show the IHSAA that the spirit of its eligibility rules will not be compromised.
Before the season
First step
Ask the athletic director at the public school serving your residence whether the school accepts Rule 12-5 students and which full-credit class your child could take.
What can rule a player out
Every other IHSAA rule still applies, including the eight-semester limit that starts when your child begins high school, whether or not your child was enrolled anywhere during that time.
When to start
Settle the school's approval and enroll in the full-credit class before the semester starts, so the grading-period proof can begin with the first certification date.
School that fits around the season
Lessons start at your child's level and go wherever practice and travel do. We grade the work as it is submitted and keep the grades and transcript a school or league may ask to see.
$149/month per child after the trial.