HB503 - Equal Access to Athletics Act

• Creates the Equal Access to Athletics Act to allow students instructed at home by private tutors or under church school law to participate in public school athletics and athletic teams.

• Requires participating students to pay the same activity fees, adhere to the same standards of behavior, conduct, academic standards, and residency requirements as public school students.

• Students from private tutors must meet academic standards confirmed by tutor documentation; students from church schools must meet comparable standards verified by standardized test scores (at least 30th percentile nationally) or portfolio demonstration.

• Prohibits schools from establishing requirements that make participation less accessible to home-schooled students than other students, and prevents schools from being blocked from competing against other schools due to participation of these students.

• Provides participating students with school insurance coverage for extracurricular activities and ensures they are counted in enrollment, attendance counts, and school funding calculations (receiving 10 percent of per-student state and local funds).