State Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, is proposing legislation that would allow homeschooled students to play sports on a school’s team in the students’ school district.

Known as the Tim Tebow Bill, in reference to the former University of Florida and NFL quarterback who was homeschooled and allowed to play on a local high school football team, Lee’s proposal will be up for consideration in the 2016 regular session of the General Assembly.

Lee drafted the bill after talking to a mother who homeschooled her son and wished he could participate in school athletics.

“She was really just heartbroken about her son not being able to play middle school football,” he said. 

Lee said he empathized with the mother. He and his wife homeschool their daughter because they wanted her to have a Christian-based education, he said.

Lee tried unsuccessfully to pass this bill during the last session, he said. People were skeptical of the bill, he said, thinking there would be a cost for public schools or that homeschooled students would not be held to the same standards as those who attended public schools.    

“This isn’t something to take money away from public schools,” Lee said. “It just gives kids a chance to play.” 

The bill holds homeschooled athletes to the same codes of conduct and academic standards as their teammates.  

Lee thinks people will be more comfortable with the proposed legislation this time around because it is not entirely new, he said. 

“I think it’s a win-win and I think people will be more receptive this time,” he said.  

Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, opposes the bill and said Kentucky schools are dealing with more important issues at the moment. While he has not read the proposed bill, Graham said it isn’t fair to public school students.

“If you take a look at why those activities take place, it’s for the kids in those schools,” he said. 

The bill has the potential to lead to students in a school district getting bumped off athletic teams in favor of students who don’t attend the school, he said. 

“Is that fair and is that right for the student who is active in that school?” Graham asked. 

Despite opposing the bill, Graham said he is not against homeschooling and does not think the bill would cost the state any money.

Ryan Emmick, Butler County High Schools’ athletic director, has been keeping track of the bill. He said it is currently difficult to determine how it would affect athletic programs across the state.  

Though Butler County has students who are homeschooled, Emmick doesn’t expect the bill, if passed, to greatly change school athletic programs in Butler or other counties that only have one high school. 

“It doesn’t seem like it would impact us,” he said. There is little, if any, demand for such a bill in his county, he said, adding that no parent has ever approached him about allowing a homeschooled child to play sports for any local public school. 

— Follow Daily News reporter Jackson French on Twitter at twitter.com/Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.