Boundaries Blur Between Public, Online and Home Schooling

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It seems that the government is giving the online schooling and homeschooling option the credit they deserve, and if you’re a parent of a child who is educated through these alternatives, your son or daughter can be the immediate beneficiary of a new law which was recently enacted. If you’re worried that applying for college financial aid will be a tough task with a homeschooled student, you can now relax since your homeschooled child now has the opportunity to gain an approval for financial aid, from no less than the U.S. Dept. of Education itself.

The non-waiverable prerequisite of high school diploma prior to college financial aid approval is no longer applicable, provided that applicants must complete a high school education within a homeschool setting, it follows that the state should recognize this arrangement as equal to those offered by accredited homeschooling or private schooling methods. This is as implied by the 1998 amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965, section 484(d)(3). Now, it is safe to expect that the government regulates the funding which it sends to colleges for aids and scholarships, and as such, all homeschoolers were required by law to take a qualifying test (such as a GED exam) before being considered as eligible for federal aid. This was before the amendments were made.

Be assured that you don’t need to go through such prerequisites with the present system, whether you’re homeschooled in the ‘traditional’ way or with the help of online courses. You meet the basic requirements for college admission, and that’s it. No GED or equivalency certificate required, as well as a benefit-eligibility test like the ACT. Both the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Dept. of Education have either revised or ratified laws and policies which affect homeschooled students, and both prescribe that children educated in such a way must be granted college admission and federal aid without the need to take any further tests, or at least those which are not any different from the ones taken by students educated in brick-and-mortar schools.

Some states like Connecticut have even gone the extra mile by offering online courses to students who need the extra credits, especially for those who are lagging behind. At present, homeschooled and private school students are not eligible to take the courses, but such an arrangement is in the works, and will consequently follow once the system takes off. It is safe to say that the program has full government support, with an 850,000-dollar state subsidy; it is offered free of charge for all state school districts, and for all students.

The program can help students catch up more quickly with studies than if they were to complete credits through summer school, and those who are interested in taking subjects which are not a normal part of the curriculum can also take courses ranging from Mandarin to Art Appreciation. However, students can only take part in the program if their school district is entitled to it. It seems that the online school community is cutting across boundaries which were previously considered off limits, so much so that some studies predict that at least half of all secondary school classes will take place in an online setting within ten years. Here’s hoping for the best.

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