ROANOKE, Va. (CN) - Homeschooled freshman runner Samuel Palmer sued Virginia's high school sporting authority Monday, arguing the exclusion of homeschooled athletes runs afoul of the Constitution. 

"There doesn't seem to be any good reason to keep me from participating just because my parents choose to educate me at home," Palmer, who hopes to compete in cross country and track and field, said at a press conference Monday. "I hope this lawsuit will mean that I can keep training for competition and testing myself."

Palmer accuses the Virginia High School League and Roanoke County School Board of enforcing a policy that violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, the state constitution's guarantee of free religious exercise and an 18th-century law establishing religious freedom.

Palmer's father, Daniel, said the policy robs his son of the chance to participate in his community despite paying taxes that support public schools. 

"We want our son to have the same opportunities as other students to participate in the sport he loves," Daniel Palmer said. "Yet this policy denies him equal protection under the law and prevents him from competing. Though we pay local taxes and Samuel demonstrates clear academic progress in a legally recognized form of education, he's prohibited from competing in track and field simply because Stacy and I educate him at home."

In his lawsuit filed in a Roanoke-based federal court, Palmer seeks a preliminary injunction that would allow him to compete during the legal process. 

"The VHSL is aware of a press conference held this morning," Virginia High School League communication director Mike McCall said in a statement. "We have not seen the lawsuit in question, but believe it concerns the league's rules governing participation for homeschooled students. Our membership has chosen to limit participation in VHSL-sponsored activities to students who attend VHSL's member schools, and we are prepared to defend that policy in court if necessary."

The Palmer family is frustrated by a Virginia High School League policy that permits students attending public school entirely online to participate, while those opting to separate their children from the state curriculum for religious reasons are left without options. They believe homeschooled athletes should be included since the league already allows virtual education as well as private school participation in sanctioned events.

"Families who are simply trying to live out their convictions to raise and educate their children in accordance with their beliefs are being told that if they do so, their children will lose access to public opportunities that other school students freely enjoy," Family Foundation president Victoria Cobb said. "This is not just unfair. It places a burden on the free exercise of religion." 

Opponents of allowing homeschooled students to participate, including the Virginia Education Association and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, argue that such participation could undermine academic integrity. The Virginia High School League requires students to have passed three of four subjects in the preceding semester and to be enrolled in at least three subjects. 

The Palmers, like nearly 60,000 homeschooled students in Virginia during the 2025-26 school year, comply with the notice-of-intent provision of state code, which requires parents to provide division superintendents with annual curriculum descriptions and adequate scores on nationally normed standardized achievement tests. Daniel Palmer said he and his wife, a former licensed public educator, would happily submit Samuel's grades more regularly if it meant he could participate.

"It's clear that Samuel and homeschoolers like him across Virginia are being denied equal protection of the law because the VHSL's exclusionary policy," said attorney Josh Hetzler of the Founding Freedoms Law Center, the legal arm of the Family Foundation representing Palmer pro bono. "The Palmers' religious exercise is burdened because, despite the fact that they were led by their faith to educate their children, they are denied the ability for Samuel to compete in interscholastic sports to which he would otherwise be entitled."

The Palmers say the policy hurts Samuel's chances of obtaining a college scholarship because Palmer's running times aren't recorded on MileStat.com, a database college coaches use for scouting and recruiting. 

"Let's be frank, there are certain sports where recruiters come to other arenas besides public high schools, but some of the types of sports, that's where they're going to be seen," Cobb said. "It isn't always just about joy - yes, it is about joy, yes, it is about passion, yes, it is about formation - but for some kids, it's literally about secondary and post opportunities for education."

The Family Foundation claim that allowing homeschooled students to participate in sports helps military families who frequently transfer between school divisions. The foundation also argues the policy hurts smaller schools that struggle to field teams for sports like football and baseball. 

Virginia is in the minority, as 31 other states allow homeschooled students to participate in interscholastic activities with some conditions. The General Assembly has repeatedly shot down attempts to change the state code, with the most recent efforts coming in 2024. 

The Virginia Attorney General's Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: Courthouse News Service