GISD to vote in June on UIL homeschool participation

After voting two years in a row against homeschool participation in UIL activities, the Graham ISD Board of Trustees will consider a policy change in June that would not require them to annually vote on the item.

Graham ISD Chief Student Services Officer Joe Gordy provided an overview Wednesday, May 13 on policies that will be up for consideration by the board in June, one of which was the change to the district’s policy language which is as follows:

“A student enrolled in a private school, including a homeschool, shall not be eligible for concurrent enrollment in the District nor for participation in curricular or extracurricular activities.”

Senate Bill 401 allowed homeschool students to participate in UIL programs and requires school districts to annually vote to opt out of allowing homeschooled students to participate in extracurricular or cocurricular activities.

Following their board vote in August 2025 to opt out, the district does not currently allow homeschool participation in UIL activities.

GISD is one of over 700 districts in the state of Texas that are listed on the UIL website as having opted out of homeschool participation in the 2025-2026 school year, along with area schools Olney ISD, Newcastle ISD, Jacksboro ISD and Breckenridge ISD.

If the new policy language is adopted by the board in June, the district will not have to take action on SB 401 until a determination is made to allow homeschool participation.

“If that's still the decision the board would like to make by taking the action and adopting this into policy, then the board would not have to annually make the decision to opt out of homeschool participation,” Gordy said. “Action would only need to be taken upon a change in that policy. So it's just for your consideration as we move forward.”

Resident Amanda Schupbach spoke during the public comment section and advocated for allowing homeschool participation in district UIL activities.

“At its core, public school UIL competitions are funded by taxpayers. Homeschool families pay those same taxes, yet their children are often denied access to programs their dollars help support. If the purpose of school competitions is to serve the community’s youth, then it makes sense to include all students in that community—community—not just those enrolled full-time in a traditional classroom,” Schupbach said.

Schupbach added that the concern about accountability and eligibility for those programs can also be addressed.

“Many states already have policies requiring homeschool students to meet academic standards and provide documentation to remain eligible. These are reasonable expectations that create fairness while still allowing access. Inclusion doesn’t mean lowering standards—it means applying them equally,” she said.

Previous board vote

The GISD board unanimously voted in August 2025 to opt out of UIL participation for homeschool students, including sports programs at Graham High School as well as in activities such as band.

Under SB 401, if the board took no action on this item Sept. 1, 2025, homeschool students in the community would be permitted UIL participation. 

Graham Steers football coach and Athletic Director Clay McChristian was in attendance at the meeting in August 2025 and brought up concerns about holding homeschool students to the same standards as GISD students in areas such as disciplinary action and grade accountability. 

“In general, we have concerns about holding unenrolled students to the same standards as ours,” McChristian said. “We believe in being all in at Graham ISD. So with that said, please consider approving our recommendation (to deny).”

McChristian said that when Steers and Lady Blues participants in UIL activities go out into the community with their teams, they represent the school district from a holistic standpoint. 

“When our kids go and compete with Lady Blues and Steers on their chest, they’re not just representing those sports teams, they’re representing Graham ISD,” he said. “That’s our teachers, our administration, our school board, everything that makes Graham ISD so great, not just that team in general.” 

Several community members spoke during the public comment portion and advocated for homeschool student participation.