Homeschool students are eligible to participate in activities the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) sponsors if they comply with RIIL Rule 3.1.I. Also see Michael and Christie B. v Exeter-West Greenwich Reg. School Dist. Comm., Comm. of Ed Decision 0077-91.

Rhode Island Interscholastic League Rule 3, Section 1

  1. Homeschool Eligibility—For students in homeschooling to be eligible for competition in the RIIL, the following requirements must be met:
    1. The student must be listed on the rolls of the school and certified to the Rhode Island Department of Education as a student.
    2. The homeschool must furnish to the school and certify the academic grades and the school must record them on the official school records on a quarterly basis.
    3. If a student is ineligible for academic and/or disciplinary reasons and subsequently becomes homeschooled; s/he may not participate in interscholastic athletics during the period of ineligibility.
    4. The school must approve the request of the homeschool student to compete on its teams.
    5. All other requirements of the Rules and Regulations must be followed with the regular school certifying the eligibility of the home school student.

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 therefore refer to association rules of particular importance in a number of entries.

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.