In Missouri, a student must attend some “public, private, parochial, parish, home school, FPE school, or full-time equivalent attendance in a combination of such schools” (Missouri Revised Statutes § 167.031(1)). This seems to open the door for a homeschool student to enroll part time in public school.
Public schools are authorized to allow homeschool students to participate in public school online programs (Missouri Revised Statutes § 162.1250.1). The Missouri Department of Education states that public schools must not place “artificial barriers” in the way of homeschool student participation in state-approved gifted education programs. See page 12 in the department’s Gifted Program Guidelines. Note that these guidelines have not been updated to include FPE schools.
Homeschool and FPE school students who meet certain requirements have a right to participate in any public school athletic or fine arts events or activities in the school district where they reside as well as any extracurricular occurrences related to those. This also applies to integrated cocurricular activities, meaning activities outside the school curriculum but which complement and supplement the curriculum (Missouri Revised Statutes § 167.790).
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.
Please note: The information on this page has been reviewed by an attorney, but it should not be taken as legal advice specific to your individual situation.