Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C.) has introduced the Home School Graduation Recognition Act. The bill is an attempt to recognize homeschool seniors are graduates, too, according to a Daily Signal story.
Harris’ bill, if approved, would alter language in a previous education bill, the Higher Education Act, that originated in the 1960s. The new bill would amend the HEA to recognize homeschooling seniors are students from “non-traditional settings” after the previous bill refers to them as students “who are not high school graduates.”
“No student should ever face discrimination or disadvantage during the college admissions process simply because they were homeschooled,” Rep. Harris said in a statement. “Yet, many universities still treat homeschoolers as second-class applicants by requiring excessive documentation and additional testing.”
Jonathan Butcher, an education analyst at The Heritage Foundation, tells AFN it’s true some U.S. states demand excessive paperwork from homeschooling high school seniors in order to prove they are prepared to move from senior to college freshman.
“This is excellent,” Butcher says of Harris’ bill, “because of the rapid growth of the homeschool population in the United States."
The number of homeschooling students is estimated to be 3 million nationwide.
Harris’ bill has been endorsed by the Home School Legal Defense Association. By clarifying that a homeschool senior meets the definition of a high school senior, the legislation will “eliminate ambiguity, prevent ongoing misinterpretation, and ensure equal treatment for homeschool graduates,” the organization said.
