The Alabama House of Representatives have passed a bill that will allow home school students to play sports for their local public school teams. 

The bill, called the Tim Tebow Act, has been named for the current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, who got the opportunity to play football at Nease High School in Florida while being home schooled. Tebow would go on to the University of Florida, where he was the first home schooled athlete to be nominated for the Heisman Trophy.

According to AL.com, the bill has been in the legislature for years but finally passed by a vote of 52-43. If this new bill passes the Senate, home school students as early as 7th grade would be allowed to tryout for a spot on a public school team as long as they meet academic and residency requirements.

But the Alabama High School Athletic Association still opposes the Tim Tebow Act.

"The AHSAA does support current Virtual School Bills as they relate to athletic eligibility as an avenue for home schooled students in the state of Alabama to participate in interscholastic contests," AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said in an e-mail to AL.com.

The state of Alabama has an estimated 24,000 students that are home schooled.

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