Wyoming district walks back proposal to ban homeschool middle-schoolers from sports after public outcry 

A school district based in Rawlins, Wyoming, has backtracked after multiple families protested its proposal to exclude homeschool middle-school students from public activities and sports programs. 

“We’ve not really been given a whole lot of reason for it,” said homeschool dad Cody Anderson at the Carbon County School District 1 Board of Trustees meeting June 26. “(The school) should include every student.” 

U.S. Marine and homeschool dad David Eisenhardt echoed Anderson, calling the draft policy a “punishment” against homeschooled children, the Cowboy State Daily reported. 

Other families pointed out their taxpayer contributions to public schools and decried the political nature of the move, especially against the backdrop of ongoing school choice legislation. 

“It should be deeply concerning to you that your school superintendent drafted a policy change for you that would hurt children in this district,” Chelsea Spencer told the board, “for which he gave the people only political reasons.” 

Board members express changed stances after more research 

Although current state law requires public schools to allow homeschool high-school students into their sports and activities, it has no similar requirements for lower grades such as middle school. 

The district considered the exclusionary policy in response to a statewide challenge over Wyoming’s Steamboat Legacy Scholarship, a school choice program designed for low-income students. 

As previously reported by The Lion, the Wyoming Education Association filed the lawsuit June 13, alleging it will “disproportionately benefit wealthier families.” 

District Superintendent Mike Hamel had proposed the draft policy, the Cowboy State Daily noted. He declined to comment on Spencer’s criticisms after the meeting. 

Multiple board members announced their opposition after the public-comment period, including Board Vice Chair Matt Feldman. 

“I never thought I’d sit here at a board meeting and hear words such as ‘draw the line in the sand’ and ‘shut the door,’” he said in a reference to comments from a gathering in May. 

Board Member Cheryl Engstrom admitted to saying “shut the door” then but clarified she hadn’t fully understood the policy and apologized for her statement. 

“I just appreciate the families that reached out to me and listened and explained their positions to me,” she said, adding she would now vote “no” on the policy. 

The district served approximately 1,600 children in the 2024-25 academic year. 

Wyoming recently approved legislation to eliminate previous homeschool reporting regulations – becoming the 12th state to stop requiring parents to file a “notice of intent” to homeschool. 

“It’s a relief to not have to feel that the government is watching or prodding or approving or denying something,” homeschool mom Shannon Rankin said of the new law, “and to really be in a place where we have a government that is actually doing what it is supposed to do.”