AIKEN --- Dillon Cook decided this year to leave Wagener-Salley High to attend the Aiken Performing Arts Academy.
The decision meant the 16-year-old had to sacrifice football and the JROTC rifle team.
A bill in the South Carolina house would allow Cook and other students to pursue academics at charter schools without having to give up the extracurriculars the small schools sometimes can't offer.
Cecile Atchley, an Aiken Performing Arts administrative assistant and a former Aiken County administrator and coach, said that the academy will never be able to offer football because it requires too many players.
Although the issue has never been formally broached by the Aiken County School District, attorney Bill Burkhalter said the system's inability to enforce the discipline code in charter schools prevents the two groups from coexisting now.
Cook said he thinks the academy actually has more athletic talent than some of the public schools and he and classmates would be willing to be subject to public school rules for time to play.
Quanette Blocker, 16, said a student who's willing to represent a school should be willing to play on the same terms as everyone else.
In Edgefield County, the lone charter school, Fox Creek High School, boasts as many sports and clubs as Strom Thurmond High School.
More than 11,000 students attend charter schools, according to the state Education Department.
The bill for participation is part of a package of charter school reforms that are in committee.
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