EXCLUSIVE: Lawmaker Seeks to Prevent Colleges From Discriminating Against Homeschoolers

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., has introduced a bill to ensure homeschoolers aren’t discriminated against in college admissions.

“No student should ever face discrimination or disadvantage during the college admissions process simply because they were homeschooled,” Harris said. “Yet, many universities still treat homeschoolers as second-class applicants by requiring excessive documentation and additional testing.”

The Higher Education Act currently defines an “institution of higher education” as one that admits students with a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent. However, the law refers to homeschoolers as “Students Who Are Not High School Graduates.”

This has caused some colleges and universities to require homeschoolers to take the GED despite having legally graduated.

Harris’ bill, called the Home School Graduation Recognition Act, replaces the heading “Students Who Are Not High School Graduates” with the title “Students From Non-Traditional Settings.” Harris says this creates a clear, uniform federal definition affirming homeschool graduates as high school graduates.

“With nearly 3 million homeschooled students across America, it’s long past time to end this discrimination and guarantee every student a fair shot at higher education,” Harris said.

The House Education and Workforce Committee, of which Harris is a member, supports the bill.

The Home School Legal Defense Association also endorses Harris’ effort.

“The Home School Graduation Recognition Act will eliminate ambiguity, prevent ongoing misinterpretation, and ensure equal treatment for homeschool graduates by clarifying that homeschool graduates meet the definition of high school graduates for federal student aid purposes,” James R. Mason, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said.