Across the States
Student’s Scholarship Hits Snag
This fall, a Home School Legal Defense Association member family’s son was invited to apply for the Presidents’ Scholarship at Paradise Valley Community College, due to his high scores on the COMPASS placement test.
In order to be eligible for the Presidents’ Scholarship, a student must either have graduated in the top 15% of his or her class at an accredited Maricopa County high school, or be a high school graduate and meet a minimum score on one of three college placement tests (which include the COMPASS test).
After Simon Moorefield (name changed to protect privacy) applied for the scholarship, Paradise Valley notified his parents that he must have his high school credits certified by a third party (i.e. not his parents) or take the GED in order to remain eligible for any award.
Mr. and Mrs. Moorefield informed HSLDA of the situation, and Staff Attorney Thomas Schmidt contacted Paradise Valley to point out that the Moorefields had already demonstrated Simon’s completion of high school by submitting his high school transcripts. Schmidt also explained that the federal government recognizes the right of homeschool parents to “self-certify” that their child has graduated from high school. Homeschool students are eligible for federal financial aid on the basis of their homeschool diploma and/or transcripts.
Paradise Valley agreed to review its policy of requiring third-party verification for homeschool graduates. Shortly after Paradise Valley received a follow-up letter from Schmidt, the Mooreheads were notified that Simon had been awarded the Presidents’ Scholarship.
— by Thomas J. Schmidt
