Legal / Legislative Updates

NEW JERSEY

College Balks at Parent-issued Diploma

What college would not want Virginia homeschool grad Jonathan Young as a student? He had a very high SAT score, was a standout in debate, and, with more than 70 college credit hours under his belt, had already proven that he had the right stuff to succeed in college.

But Jonathan didn’t have a “state-recognized” diploma, so the processing of his application to enroll in Trenton-based Thomas Edison State College came to an abrupt halt. The acting director of admissions wrote:

How would Thomas Edison State College confirm you have a high school diploma that is recognized in the state of Virginia? Your diploma was printed and signed by your parents. There must be an official document that states you have a high school diploma recognized in the state of Virginia? [sic]

The letter even told Jonathan that he would need to take the General Educational Development test (GED) to be considered for admission.

When Jonathan’s parents, who are members of Home School Legal Defense Association, called our offices for help, HSLDA Staff Attorney Scott Woodruff faxed a letter to Edison's acting director of admissions. In the letter, Woodruff explained that it is the norm for homeschool grads not to have a “state-recognized” diploma. Only two states—North Dakota and Pennsylvania—even offer the option of some form of government recognition for homeschool grads, and even in those states, most homeschoolers do not want such recognition. By rejecting parent-generated diplomas, Edison would essentially be reducing its applicant pool by all homeschool grads in 48 states, and by most homeschool grads in the remaining two states.

Woodruff’s letter included excerpts from several articles about the success of homeschool grads in being admitted to college. The articles explained that prestigious schools including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Penn State, and Brown have all accepted homeschool grads, and some schools even make special efforts to recruit them.

Woodruff pointed out that federal law squarely supports colleges in accepting parent-issued diplomas. Once upon a time—and this is probably the source of Edison’s misapprehension—the United States Department of Education published inconsistent college guidelines, which implied that parent-issued diplomas were not sufficient to protect a college’s eligibility for federal financial aid. HSLDA subsequently spent many hours in consultation with federal officials, resulting in revised regulations and policies making it clear that a parent-issued diploma will do the job.

Finally, Woodruff explained that a GED can stigmatize a young person, since it implies that the student did not finish high school. He suggested that Jonathan would be better off enrolling in another college than risking clouding his excellent academic record with a GED.

A few days later, Thomas Edison State College admitted Jonathan.

— by Scott A. Woodruff