(a) The General Assembly recognizes that all students should have equal access to interscholastic activities as a complement to the academic curriculum.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Athletic activity” means a varsity sport or another competitive sports-related contest, game, event, or exhibition that involves an individual student or teams of students either among schools within the resident school district or between schools outside of the resident school district;
(2) “Home-schooled student” means a student legally enrolled in an Arkansas home school;
(3) “Interscholastic activity” means an activity between schools subject to rules of the Arkansas Activities Association that is:
(A) Outside the regular curriculum of a school district, including without limitation an athletic activity, a fine arts program, or a special interest club or group; and
(B) Taught by an individual with a minimum of a high school diploma;
(4) “Parent” is a:
(A) Legal guardian; or
(B) Legal custodian;
(5) “Resident school” is the school to which the student would be assigned by the resident school district; and
(6) “Resident school district” means the school district in which the home-schooled student's parent resides as determined under § 6-18-202.
(c)
(1)
(A) Except as provided in subdivision (c)(2) of this section, a home-schooled student shall not participate in interscholastic activities at a public school other than the student's resident school.
(B) A home-schooled student may participate in interscholastic activities at a public school other than the home-schooled student's resident school by mutual agreement between the resident school and any other public school where the home-schooled student wishes to participate.
(2) A home-schooled student approved under subdivision (c)(1)(B) of this section to participate in interscholastic activities at a public school other than the home-schooled student's resident school may begin participating:
(A) In an interscholastic activity that is not an athletic activity immediately upon being approved to participate; and
(B)
(i)
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c)(2)(B)(ii) of this section, in an interscholastic activity that is an athletic activity one (1) calendar year after being approved to participate.
(b) A home-schooled student under subdivision (c)(2)(B)(i)(a) of this section may immediately participate in rehearsals, tryouts, practices, auditions, classes, or other endeavors associated with the interscholastic activity that is an athletic activity.
(ii) A home-schooled student may begin participating in an interscholastic activity that is an athletic activity immediately upon being approved to participate if the home-schooled student is approved to participate by July 1 of the school year for which the home-schooled student will be enrolled in grade seven (7).
(3) A home-schooled student shall not participate in interscholastic activities at more than one (1) public school at the same time.
(d) A resident school district may permit a home-schooled student to participate in an interscholastic activity if:
(1) For the purpose of subsection (g) of this section, the home-schooled student reports to the resident school district within the first eleven (11) days of the fall or spring semester of the resident school district; and
(2) The home-schooled student or his or her parent advises the principal of the resident school in writing of the home-schooled student's request to participate in the interscholastic activity before the signup, tryout, or participation deadlines established for students enrolled in the resident school.
(e) The principal of the resident school shall permit a home-schooled student to pursue participation in an interscholastic activity of the resident school if the home-schooled student or the home-schooled student's parent:
(1) Before the signup, tryout, or participation deadlines established for students enrolled in the resident school, provides to the principal a notice of the home-schooled student's desire to pursue participation; and
(2) Informs the principal in the notice that the home-schooled student has demonstrated academic eligibility by obtaining:
(A) A minimum test score of the thirtieth percentile on the Stanford Achievement Test Series, Tenth Edition, or another nationally recognized norm-referenced test in the previous twelve (12) months; or
(B) A minimum score on a test approved by the State Board of Education.
(f) If a home-schooled student's written request to participate in the interscholastic activity is approved under this section, the home-schooled student:
(1) Although not guaranteed participation in an interscholastic activity, shall have an equal opportunity to try out and participate in interscholastic activities without discrimination; and
(2) Shall not participate unless he or she meets the criteria for participation in the interscholastic activity that apply to students enrolled in the resident school district, including:
(A) Tryout criteria;
(B) Standards of behavior and codes of conduct;
(C) The academic criteria under subdivision (e)(2) of this section;
(D) Practice times;
(E) Required drug testing;
(F) Permission slips, waivers, and physical exams; and
(G) Participation or activity fees.
(g) A home-schooled student who participates in an interscholastic activity may be:
(1) Required to be at school not more than one (1) period per school day; and
(2) Transported by the resident school district to and from interscholastic activities as the resident school district transports other students who are enrolled in the resident school.
(h) A student who withdraws from an Arkansas Activities Association member school to be home-schooled shall not participate in an interscholastic activity in the resident school district for a minimum of three hundred sixty-five (365) days after the student withdraws from the member school.
(i)
(1) A public school shall provide a reasonable alternative to any prerequisite for eligibility to participate in an interscholastic activity that the home-schooled student is unable to meet because of his or her enrollment in a home school.
(2) The alternative under subdivision (i)(1) of this section shall provide the home-schooled student with the same opportunity to participate in an interscholastic activity as a public school student.