SHERIDAN — Homeschooled children across Wyoming could be allowed to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities at public schools during the upcoming school year.

The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Education Committee voted Friday to sponsor draft bill 26LSO-0197, “Participation in 6-12 activities,” sending the bill to the Legislature’s 2026 budget session. 

The bill would require Wyoming school districts to allow children in grades six to 12 not enrolled in the district to participate in any activities; the bill would apply to children who are homeschooled, attending private school or participating in the state’s education savings account program.

Existing statute requires school districts to allow participation at the high school level. In the 2024-25 school year, 380 homeschooled high school students and 394 middle school students participated in sanctioned Wyoming High School Activities Association activities. 

The bill allows participation for middle school students.

“If they don’t get to do it in middle school, it virtually cuts them out of being, for example, in band, participating in high school band,” Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, said.

Dicky Shanor WDE said the bill rose to the surface with the passage of the state’s ESA program, which helps pay for education costs outside public schools with public dollars.

“(This) had traditionally been custom in a lot of districts, but not codified in terms of the junior high school participation and so this statute just clarifies what the law is on this topic,” Shanor said.

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, expressed some concern about the costs associated with non-enrolled students participating in school activities. Existing statute allows a school district to charge the same fees to non-enrolled students it charges to enrolled students, though Rothfuss noted most co-curricular and extracurricular activities don’t have any fees associated.

“This is an unfunded expense where you have a real expense associated with homeschoolers,” Rothfuss said, noting the state’s school block grant typically covers activity costs for Wyoming students, but homeschooled students are not included in distribution calculations.

Wyoming School Board Association Executive DIrector Brian Farmer echoed Rothfuss’ sentiment, stating co-curricular activities require students to participate in a class, which clashes with the state’s ESA program rules because families are not eligible to participate in the program if they are partially counted as an enrolled student in a school district.

Farmer added that students who are not participating in the ESA program but participating in school activities can be partially counted, allowing the district to receive additional funding based on average daily membership, or ADM.

The committee voted unanimously to send the bill to the 2026 session. 

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, noted a challenge of homeschooling children is the lack of social interaction among peers.

“I think that’s one of the real reasons for the bill,” he said.

Should the bill become law, it would go into effect for the 2026-27 school year.

The Wyoming Legislature’s 2026 budget session is set to begin Feb. 9, 2026.