Bob Baldridge's comments
to the Senate Education Committee of 4/6/05
104th General Assembly, SB1356 Extra-curricular activities
transcribed by Kay Brooks from her audio tape.
 

Bob Baldridge, I am the Assistant Executive Director of the TSSAA.

There are several things and I will try and keep it to a [unintelligible--the Chair had announced that there was only 1 1/2 minutes left so my best recollection is that Mr. Baldridge was assuring the Chair that he would keep his comments short.]

We offered the Tennessee homeschool association the opportunity to work with us, Sen. Bryson. We went to them after your meeting and said "Do a survey. I'll take it to the committee. Come up with some things that you can live with, bring them back to me and we'll call this committee to order so that you can make that presentation."

Mr. Bell did none of that. I asked Mr. Bell about it and he said "I don't remember anything about that." We informed our committee by letter and sent Mr. Bell a copy of it  that we would meet once he had this information and we could work with him. We never got anything from him. I called him before the start of this session to say "Mike, where is it?"

 "I don't have it . I don't remember anything like that."

But we had two specific conversations and we left saying Mike, let me know, we'll call a meeting together. We had none of that cooperation. I thought Mike Bell was the first step towards a positiveness in working with the homeschool association. Apparently, it is not. They chose not to work with us.

Now TSSAA is a voluntary organization. Every circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States has said that education's a right. Participation in extracurricular activities, and particularly athletics is a privilege. It is not given by law anywhere.

The schools in the state run TSSAA. They're the ones that make the rules. There are 360 members of the high schools. 300 middle schools. They make our rules. Our membership, just two or three years ago voted against this 94%, as Mike Bell indicated. TEA is 100% against it. The superintendents 100% against it. TSBA, the state principal's association, the association of independent and municipal schools are all against it.

Basically, if you allow homeschoolers to participate they don't meet the standards that your children meet in school. They don't go to class. They don't make the grades. There is nothing to verify what they want.

The most interesting calls I've had, and I can give you call after call after call, was, I've had two recently that said "Why are you pushing this bill?" My statement was "I'm not." And one call was from Murfreesboro and one was from Knoxville. And they said "Please don't let this happen because we don't want to participate with", and I'm not going to use the phraseology they gave me, "public schools. We don't want to participate in any form with them. We want our group." That's the side I had not heard. [Baldridge laughs.] It came to me and I was a little stunned with it.

But, just to give you a list Powell [?] high school, Farragut High School, North Side High School, Humboldt High School, Marshall County High School, Monterey High School, Ooltewah High School, University School, Blackmon High School, Franklin High School, BGA, White Station none of these schools, the people you represent, want this.

If the school is not good enough academically for them, if the English teacher is not good enough for them why is athletics? They've made a choice. They have truly made a choice. There are, there are two things I don't fully understand and I direct it back to the Committee, first off the state constitution says that this body cannot make any laws that would affect a corporation. While we're not named in the bill it is obvious from everybody's statement, including Senator Bryson's, that it is us they are talking about. The second one that hits me as I've read this is Federal law of separation of church and state and this law brings them together. But that, that's just personal because I don't understand that part. I'd like to give you just quick...

Chairman Jamie Hagood interrupts: Mr. Baldridge very quickly we're at the end of our time and I think that Senator Tracy and Senator Bryson were both wanting us to make sure we give this bill full consideration.

Unknown speaker: Yes.

Senator Tracy: Yes, Madam Chairman, thank you. And Mr. Baldridge, I'd like for you, if you could, to come back next week. I'd like to roll this a week. We've got a lot of questions I think...

Baldridge: Sure.

Senator Tracy: ...to ask you and maybe ask some more of our homeschoolers so I move that we roll it for a week.

Chairman Hagood: Senator Bryson is OK with that and seconds that and we will roll the bill for one week and if our representatives from the homeschool association, too,  will be available for questions.

Senator Cohen: Thank you Madam Chairman. I just want to comment on how well prepared and presented the three students' presentations were. They are obviously doing very well and I thank them.

Chairman Hagood: And the chair concurs. Sen. Bryson you're recognized.

Senator Bryson: If you don't mind I'll just close on this because [unintelligible].I wanted to thank you, to respond to what Sen. Cohen said, as you all on the committee can tell these homeschoolers are not lacking, I mean  they work hard and they do a lot and they get an excellent education, by and large, they do a wonderful job as I'm sure you're all well aware. And I want to thank them and their families for being here today. If you all are homeschoolers here would you just stand up real quick and let us welcome you to the committee. [Applause.]