HB 281 – Georgia Virtual School Opportunity and Enrichment Act

• Requires local school systems to allow students in grades 6 through 12 who are enrolled full time in a state-approved virtual charter school to participate in extracurricular activities at the public school they would otherwise attend based on their residence.

• Virtual students must achieve a satisfactory score on one or more curriculum-based tests designated by the State Board of Education to be eligible, with all testing arrangements and costs borne by the student and their parent or guardian.

• Students who fail to meet academic testing requirements are ineligible for extracurricular participation for the remainder of the current semester and each succeeding semester until requirements are met.

• Students who withdraw or drop out of a public school during the school year are ineligible to participate as virtual students in extracurricular activities for the remainder of that year and the following school year, unless the principal grants a waiver for extraordinary health-related issues.

• Public schools are prohibited from holding membership in any organization governing interscholastic extracurricular activities that discriminates against virtual students.