A quirk in federal law that classifies home-schooled students as “not high school graduates” could soon be a thing of the past. This week in Washington, Florida Sen. Ashley Moody introduced the Home School Graduation Recognition Act, a bipartisan effort designed to strip away the bureaucratic red tape that has long annoyed families opting for non-traditional education.
The issue stems from a technicality in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Even though the Department of Education generally recognizes homeschooling, the law’s internal headers still group these students under a category for people without a diploma.
It sounds like a minor clerical detail, but for many families, it’s a real headache. This wording has led some colleges to inadvertently block home-schooled applicants from receiving financial aid or even gaining admission, simply because the computer system flags them as having never finished school.
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Sen. Moody, joined by Indiana Senator Jim Banks, is pushing to change that heading to “Students from Non-Traditional Settings.” More importantly, the bill would codify into law that any student who completes a home-school program recognized by their state is, by definition, a high school graduate.
“Home-schooled students who work hard to meet rigorous standards shouldn’t be discriminated against while applying for college,” Moody said during the announcement, which coincided with National School Choice Week. Senator Banks echoed that sentiment, noting that while these students put in the same effort as their peers in public or private schools, their diplomas often lack the same legal weight when it comes to federal paperwork.
The bill, officially labeled S. 119, is now heading to committee. If passed, it would provide a much-needed layer of protection for the growing number of American families who have moved away from traditional classrooms.
By closing this legislative loophole, the act ensures that a student’s path to financial aid depends on their academic achievements, not which building they sat in to earn their credits.
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