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| Date: From: Subject: | 7/25/2006 3:33:31 PM Home School Legal Defense Association South Carolina--Calls Needed Regarding LIFE Scholarships |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== July 25, 2006 South Carolina--Calls Needed Regarding LIFE Scholarships Dear HSLDA members and friends: On June 6, 2006, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education changed the rules for LIFE Scholarships for college expenses by deciding that parent-generated transcripts for homeschool students will no longer be accepted. Instead, only transcripts prepared by homeschool associations or public school districts will be considered in determining eligibility for the scholarships. This policy became effective immediately. Your calls to state officials are needed to reverse this unnecessary and burdensome policy. In some cases this policy will undoubtedly result in the denial or delay in homeschool students receiving the LIFE Scholarship. ACTION REQUESTED: (1) Please call or write (both would be better) the state officials named below with this message: "Please rescind the policy of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education to no longer accept parent-generated transcripts for homeschool students to receive LIFE Scholarships. Requiring these students to submit transcripts prepared by homeschool associations or school districts is an unnecessary administrative burden, considering the fact that all of the data for the transcripts will continue to be supplied by the parents." Governor Mark Sanford Office of the Governor P.O. Box 12267 Columbia, SC 29211 (803) 734-2100 Dr. Layton McCurdy, Chairman South Carolina Commission on Higher Education 3 Chisolm Street, #301 Charleston, SC 29401 (803) 737-2260 Dr. Gail Morrison, Executive Director South Carolina Commission on Higher Education 1333 Main Street, Suite 200 Columbia, SC 29201 (803) 737-2260 (2) Please forward this email to other homeschooling families who are not members of HSLDA and ask them to contact these state officials as well. BACKGROUND: The new policy states that students who are homeschooled must have their grades converted to the South Carolina Uniform Grading Scale (UGS) by the approved homeschool association of which they are a member. Students who are homeschooled through their local school district may request that the public school accomplish the conversion to the UGS. Grade conversions conducted by parents will not be accepted for scholarship eligibility. The fact is that homeschool associations rely solely on information provided to them by parents of students. The associations do not check homework, administer and grade tests in particular subjects, or otherwise independently evaluate the academic progress of a student in individual courses. The new policy does nothing more than add a step for compiling a transcript without adding any integrity or credibility to the contents of the transcript. This simply creates an administrative burden to the homeschool associations without any increase in reliability of the end product. Further, homeschool associations cannot reasonably be expected to exercise the level of scrutiny that would be required to independently verify grades submitted by parents. Public high schools are not required by law or by state policy to convert grades to the UGS for homeschool students. Accordingly, it is doubtful that any public school district will be willing to verify the grades earned by a homeschool student by preparing a transcript based on the UGS. Again, the only information the public school has regarding the student's academic performance in particular subjects comes from the parent. The new policy also states that if a homeschool student is unable to have his grades converted by a homeschool association or public high school, then the student must earn eligibility for the scholarship by maintaining a 3.0 GPA and earning 30 credit hours by the end of each academic year. While the South Carolina General Assembly has authorized the Commission on Higher Education to promulgate regulations and establish procedures to administer the LIFE Scholarship, the Commission does not have the authority to change the law concerning how and when a scholarship is awarded. We believe the statutory language of Section 59-149-10 et seq of the Code of Laws of South Carolina sets forth the eligibility requirements, and these requirements may not be changed by the Commission. If you have any questions about this new policy, please do not hesitate to contact us for additional information. Thanks for taking time to call--together we can make a difference! Sincerely, Dewitt T. Black, III HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you look at the clouds and tell the direction of the wind? An interesting phenomenon of wind is that it can blow in multiple directions at the same time, at different heights from the ground. But usually there is a prevailing wind. HSLDA watches the gusts and monitors the prevailing trends of change in the legal climate of home education. So no matter which way the wind is blowing, we're there to protect your family. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
