One
Police Officer and Four Daycare Workers Deemed Unqualified Because of Homeschool Diplomas
Life Site News ^ | May 30, 2008 | Tim Waggoner
Posted on Monday,
June 02, 2008 5:19:50 AM by Between the Lines
NASHVILLE, TN, Five people in Tennessee, who hold homeschool diplomas, have recently been deemed unqualified
for certain positions of employment becasue of their homeschooling. Since last year, the Tennessee Department of
Education has begun withholding approval of such diplomas, but Representative
Mile Bell has been fighting to gain back the recognition these diplomas
previously enjoyed.
Bell told LifeSiteNews.com that until last year, no person in Tennessee had ever had
an issue with an employer for holding a category IV diploma - the official
title of diplomas issued to private church-related students, including homeschooled students.
Recently, however, employers that are required by
statute to hire only those persons with a high school diploma, including the
police department, day-care workers and education workers, have either
suspended or denied employment to five category IV diploma holders.
After graduating with a 4.0 average from a police
academy, one Rockwood police officer lost his certification, possibly deeming
all of his arrests invalid, "because the DOE refused to recognize his
category IV diploma." Bell
also mentioned that this occurred seven years after the officer received his
category IV high school diploma.
Likewise, Bell
mentioned four daycare workers who have been deemed unqualified to carry out
their responsibilities because they have category IV diplomas.
The representative was also keen to point out that
many institutions of higher education, such as Harvard, grant scholarships
based on such diplomas.
According to Bell,
"It is hard to put a finger on when the Department of Education stopped
giving full recognition to category IV diplomas. Throughout the course of four
meetings with the DOE, they were either unable or refused to answer this
question clearly." Bell
does not understand why the problem occurred because homeschool
diplomas have been part of a statute since 1976.
He suggested one incident that might have acted as
a catalyst for the change. In February of 2007, the Control of the State of Tennessee audited the
DOE, and was displeased to see that the department was not regulating category
IV diplomas and the curriculum related to them.
Yet, Bell
commented on the fact that one of the main reasons parents choose to homeschool their children is so they do not have to use
state provided curriculum and testing.
"Regulating category IV diplomas leads to
regulating home school curriculum, but I believe parents have a God-given right
to choose their child's education."
In an effort to protect homeschooling
in the state of Tennessee,
Representative Bell has been spearheading an effort to establish a compromise
with the DOE. After several negotiation periods with the department, as well as
proposing a bill to the legislative process, Bell believes that category IV diplomas will
once again gain the recognition they deserve.
He speculates that a person holding such a
diploma, who applies for a position with an agency that requires by statute
their employees to possess high school diplomas, will have to write a
standardized test, receiving a grade no lower than a C. Homeschooled
students have a reputation for often achieving academic test results well above
the average of students from pubic education institutions.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08053001.html