Minnesota school districts “shall allow all resident pupils receiving instruction in a home school . . . to be eligible to fully participate in extracurricular [but not co-curricular] activities on the same basis as public school students.” Minnesota Statutes Annotated, 123B.49, Subd. 4(a).

Minnesota Statutes Annotated, 123B.49, Subd. 4(a-b)

Board control of extracurricular activities

(a) The board may take charge of and control all extracurricular activities of the teachers and children of the public schools in the district. Extracurricular activities means all direct and personal services for pupils for their enjoyment that are managed and operated under the guidance of an adult or staff member. The board shall allow all resident pupils receiving instruction in a home school as defined in section 123B.36, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), to be eligible to fully participate in extracurricular activities on the same basis as public school students.

(b) Extracurricular activities have all of the following characteristics:

(1) they are not offered for school credit nor required for graduation;

(2) they are generally conducted outside school hours, or if partly during school hours, at times agreed by the participants, and approved by school authorities;

(3) the content of the activities is determined primarily by the pupil participants under the guidance of a staff member or other adult.

Things to keep in mind

Public school access includes participation in public school classes, sports, activities, etc.

States use a unique vocabulary in this area: “extracurricular,” “cocurricular,” “curricular,” “interscholastic,” “program,” “activity,” etc. Care should be taken to distinguish one from another. When a state defines a word, it is important.

While athletic association rules are not “law,” public schools are generally constrained to operate within them, or their teams could be disqualified.

We strive toward keeping this information 100% up to date in this rapidly changing area of the law. However, this post should not be considered authoritative because of the possibility of unobserved changes in association rules, statutes, regulations, or case decisions, and because of lag time between changes and the publication of updates.