Previous Issue Current Issue Next Issue About Search Archives Advertising VOLUME XVIII, NUMBER 4 - disclaimer - JULY / AUGUST 2002   C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S   Cover Story Can they get a job? Home school entrepreneurs Home schooler youngest Geography Bee winner ever Ending college discrimination Special Insert Trumpet of Liberty Regular Features Active cases Freedom watch Notes to members A Contrario Sensu Prayer and praise President's page F.Y.I HSLDA social services contact policy Across the States State by State H  O  M  E     S  C  H  O  O  L  I  N  G     N  E  W  S     F  R  O  M AK · AL · AZ · CA · HI · ME · MI · MN · MO · MS · NC · ND · NE · NH · NJ · NV · NY · OH · OK · PA · SC · SD · TX · UT · VT · WA · WV Ohio Kent State shuns home schoolers On March 20, 2002, Kent State University Director of Admissions Paul J. Deutsch wrote a home schooled applicant: I recognize that you and your parents do not agree with the university's admission policy requiring all new freshmen to possess either a high school diploma from a chartered or accredited high school, or a General Education Development (GED) certificate. I also recognize that your interpretation of that policy might lead you to believe we are not interested in having you become a student here. I want to assure you that is in no way the case. We would like very much for you to become an integral part of the freshman class of Fall 2002. Home School Legal Defense Association has repeatedly explained to Mr. Deutsch how home schoolers feel about taking the GED, and why they object to this test. Each incoming student at Kent State University has already submitted an SAT or ACT score that is far above what the GED requires. Home schooling in Ohio is much more regulated than in many other states, and satisfactory completion of an Ohio home school program should be adequate proof of academic merit. Mr. Deutsch's policy flies in the face of recent decisions by the federal government, and he knows it. (See "Ending college discrimination" on page 7). HSLDA sent him a copy of a letter from the Federal Office of Personnel Management that advises federal civil servants to treat a home school graduate exactly like they treat a graduate from an accredited school. If Kent State was merely uninformed about home education, or believed that federal law required them to ask for a GED, their policy would be merely annoying. Instead, because they act with full knowledge of the facts, and despite the alternatives, Kent State's policy is insulting. We invite HSLDA members to take steps to correct this situation. Please contact Kent State University to inquire about its home school policy. Address your letter to Paul J. Deutsch, Director of Admissions, Kent State University, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242-0001. In a short, polite letter, please ask him to send you a copy of Kent State University's admissions policy for home schoolers. This will give him some sense of the number of potential students he is losing. If Ohio home schoolers work together, we should be able to change Kent State's misguided policy. — Scott W. Somerville

Supported by the

Home School Foundation www.homeschoolfoundation.org