Homeschool Sports Eligibility in West Virginia
Yes. Under section 18-2-25(d) of the West Virginia Code, the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) must treat a homeschooled student as eligible at the public secondary school serving the family's attendance zone, if the student meets set conditions.
What state law requires
The law covers interscholastic athletics and other extracurricular activities. It applies to students receiving home instruction, Hope Scholarship participants, and students in microschools or learning pods.
The WVSSAC's own overview for homeschooled students lists three things to provide: each year's evidence of academic progress on a nationally normed assessment, scored on average in the fourth stanine, residence in the attendance zone, and vaccination records.
The statute applies notwithstanding the commission's own rules. A student who leaves a school during the school year follows the same transfer rules that apply between member schools.
Rules that decide participation
Yearly test results
Your child shows satisfactory academic progress each year, with average test results within or above the fourth stanine in all subject areas.
Age limit
Your child has not turned 19 by August 1 of the current school year.
Amateur status
Your child receives no compensation and takes part only for the educational, physical, mental, and social benefits.
Commission rules
Your child follows WVSSAC rules on awards, all-star games, parental consents, physical examinations, and vaccinations that apply to all high school athletes.
Before the season
First step
Give the athletic director at your zoned public high school this year's test results and your child's vaccination records before the first practice.
What can rule a player out
Participation is limited to the zoned school, and that school may charge reasonable fees to cover the costs of participation.
When to start
Have this year's test scores in hand before the season begins.
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.