September 26, 2005
Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 8: Byrd Scholarships
SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW FOR THE ROBERT C. BYRD HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
Section 419F(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d-36(a)) is amended by inserting `(or a home school, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law)’ after `public or private secondary school’.
Chris says, “Can you imagine the bureaucratic nightmare that will result from the states trying to come up with some equitable formula to dole out these scholarships to kids they know nothing about?”
Let me see… about 98% of the high school graduates today attend public or traditional private schools. Congress has come up with some arguably equitable formula for doling out scholarships to that 98%. If we open the doors to the remaining 2% of America’s graduates, however, we will have bureaucratic nightmares.
Nope. I have tried to imaginge the bureaucratic nightmares, but I can't even work up a bad dream. Help me out, here, Chris.
PermalinkComments
I could see it being very much like the HS extracurricular sports or college admission arguments:
"We can't verify your attendance."
"We can't verify your aptitude."
"Can't you get a GED?"
Posted by: Eric Holcombe at September 27, 2005 09:00 AM
The importance of freedom from government intrusion or the potential of government intrusion far outweighs the importance of homeschoolers being able to participate in the Byrd scholarship program, no matter how economically advantageous it is. There are a variety of conditions and qualifications that one must meet in order to obtain various scholarships. Many scholarships are only available to particular categories of individuals, such as children of firefighters, or children of veterans, or students residing in a particular town. A change in federal law should not occur just to allow homeschoolers to participate in those types of "discriminatory" scholarships so similarly, a change in federal law should not occur just to allow homeschoolers to participate in the Byrd Scholarship. The money one would receive from this scholarship is not worth the strings and reporting requirements that will be attached to it.
Solution: Apply for other scholarships, there are many out there which willnot require federal strings attached.
Posted by: Judy Aron at September 27, 2005 01:52 PMByrd Scholarships are not a lot of benefit for the risk we will be taking as homeschoolers included in this federal legislation:
From: http://www.cfda.gov/static/84185.htm (please review that entire page for more details)
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under the heading:
84.185 Byrd Honors Scholarships
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: The State educational agencies (SEA), which supervise public elementary and secondary schools in the States, are responsible for administering the program. For the purposes of this program, the States include the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Palau, The Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Beneficiary Eligibility: A student must meet residency and citizenship requirements, be a graduate of a public or private secondary school or have been accepted for enrollment at an institution of higher education, have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, and show promise of continued academic achievement to be eligible to receive a scholarship.
(as a note here: We looked up the actual code..TITLE 20 > CHAPTER 28 > SUBCHAPTER IV > Part A > Sec. 1070d-33. .the eligibility requirements as stated on the website say a student needs to be a graduate "or" be admitted to an institution of higher education. The Federal Code says graduate "and" be admitted. Please be reminded to always look at what the actual statutes say! http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/20/1070d-33.html
Sec. 1070d-36. - Eligibility of scholars
(a) High school graduation or equivalent and admission to institution required
Each student awarded a scholarship under this subpart shall be a graduate of a public or private secondary school or have the equivalent of a certificate of graduation as recognized by the State in which the student resides and must have been admitted for enrollment at an institution of higher education.
(b) Selection based on promise of academic achievement
Each student awarded a scholarship under this subpart must demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and show promise of continued academic achievement )
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements: Each participating State is allotted scholarships (amounting to $1,500 each) based on the ratio of the State's population ages five through seventeen years to the population ages five through seventeen in all participating States, except that no State shall receive less than 10 scholarships.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Awards may be made for up to 4 years. Renewals are subject to the availability of appropriations.
Award Procedure: Annual allotments are provided through grant awards to the State educational agencies for making scholarships to qualifying students. Students apply to their State of legal residence for a scholarship under this program. Student applicants must follow the application procedures as directed by each State. Each participating State awards scholarships to eligible students in accordance with selection procedures approved by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
In fiscal year 2002, a total of 27,334 students received $1,500 in Scholarships.
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What will homeschoolers have to show to "demonstrate outstanding academic achievement?
How will homeschoolers have to define "being enrolled as a full-time student, and maintaining satisfactory academic progress?"
What selection procedure will the US Secretary of Education decide will be appropriate for homeschoolers?
Is $1,500 worth the cost of homeschool freedom?
Federal legislation that is being considered (HR3753/SB1691) to revise to the Byrd Scholarship program will only invite further reporting requirements and regulation for homeschoolers and the risk shown here outweighs the benefit!
Remember, when the government gives away money, it will want accountability, and accountability inevitably leads to regulation. There are many public and private scholarships available that contain certain criteria for eligibility. Students in public schools do not qualify for all scholarships. If homeschoolers do not qualify under the particular criteria of any one scholarship, they should seek funding elsewhere. Taking the extra time and effort to seek out funding elsewhere is far more preferable than to accept funding from the government and risk potential regulation.
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How about some relevant HSLDA quotes on this matter??
"America's Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to keep the state checked by the law in order to keep the private sphere truly free. When individuals accept state funds for private activities, the distinction between the state and the private sphere is blurred, self-government is weakened, and the state is further unleashed from the bounds of law to intrude upon the personal lives of its citizens. If the distinction between the state and the private sphere is damaged or falls, our whole constitutional system of government collapses." -(June 26 2002, The Problem with Home-Based Charter Schools)
"…liberty is at risk, however, if home schoolers begin drinking from the public trough. These are the same state governments that once heavily restricted or prohibited home schooling altogether. If home schooling families take government money or services through virtual charter schools, they will become dependent on government money and subject to increasing government regulation. Public schools and the state will once again acquire power to dictate home schoolers' curriculum, teacher qualifications, and methods." -(Jan/Feb 2002, The Court Report - Charter Schools)
"In Alberta, Canada, home schoolers enjoyed more liberty than almost any of the other provinces. Then several years ago, legislation was passed giving home schoolers $500 per child in government funds. The very next year, one of the most restrictive legislative bills was passed, implementing regulations for home schoolers. When asked why, the Minister of Education stated that if they were giving money to home schoolers, they had to know who they are and have certain standards. These regulations apply to all home schoolers--not only those who receive the government funding." -(Jan/Feb 2002, The Court Report - Charter Schools)
Posted by: Deborah Stevenson at September 27, 2005 01:57 PMDeborah asks, "What will homeschoolers have to show to "demonstrate outstanding academic achievement?"
To the best of my knowledge, Deborah, homeschoolers will have to fit into whatever existing categories the Byrd Scholarship program uses. I don't understand anyone to be suggesting that there will be a new "outstanding homeschool academic achievement" track.
As for defining "being enrolled as a full-time student, and maintaining satisfactory academic progress," I think that means homeschoolers would have to attend college full time and maintain the same minimum GPA as other Byrd Scholarship recipients.
Posted by: Scott W. Somerville at September 27, 2005 04:05 PMI can understand HSLDA 'divorcing' the Byrd scholarship argument from the quotes Deborah has mentioned as they no longer involve home education (the quotes concern homeschool charters), but attendance at (likely) a public/federally funded university.
Is the argument that the states recognize home education as a valid form of compulsory education, therefore home educated students should qualify for the federal scholarship? It seems that the states are in control of the awards with the selection criteria determined at the federal level: "Student applicants must follow the application procedures as directed by each State. Each participating State awards scholarships to eligible students in accordance with selection procedures approved by the U.S. Secretary of Education."
In other words, the federal law could say that home educated students are valid applicants, but the states could still dictate what would have to be shown at the application stage. I don't live in Pennsylvania for a reason.
Posted by: Eric Holcombe at September 28, 2005 09:06 AM
At present, a State that wants to allow homeschoolers to get Byrd Scholarship money can't do it, unless they are willing to define "homeschools" as "private schools." That has its own risks.
Posted by: Scott W. Somerville at September 28, 2005 10:15 AMThat is not all together true Scott.. the federal law (read it above) says
Beneficiary Eligibility:
A student must meet residency and citizenship requirements,
be a graduate of a public or private secondary school
OR ...OR... OR... OR
have been accepted for enrollment at an institution of higher education,
It looks to me like homeschoolers would be eligible if they've been accepted to a college.
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For the lousy $1500 that one might get, do you honestly think it is worth sacrificing our rights and placing the term homeschool in federal statute? which by the way you still have not given us a federal definition for that undefined term! what is the federal definition of homeschool?
Well, I thought Deborah pointed out that the word is "and", not "or" in the actual code. I still see the qualification problem as "demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and show promise of continued academic achievement".
The states seem to have quite different ideas about what this means:
Illinois: http://www.collegezone.com/media/ByrdRightandResp.pdf
California: http://www.fao.ucla.edu/uclascholarships/byrd.html
Texas: http://em.tsu.edu/financialaid/scholarships/byrd.htm
Louisiana:
http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/uploads/3505.pdf
I guess if you have an 'in-house' guidance counselor and let the kids vote for superlatives, you might make out o.k. ;o)
Posted by: Eric Holcombe at September 28, 2005 04:20 PMI'm a little bit lost on the "ands" and "ors," but I'm still waiting for someone to show me where the threat to homeschooling is in all this.
Posted by: Scott W. Somerville at October 3, 2005 12:27 PMSure Scott... H$LDA is the threat to homeschooling .. they want to pass federal legislation regarding homeschooling - now that sounds dangerous enough to me.. especially if homeschoolers take federal funding.. then we can all be regulated like public school kids..
seems I recall a few quotes from H$LDA on the matter (and given their position I can't for the life of me under$tand how they changed their po$ition. (follow the money honey)
HSLDA has historically taken the position that Federal Legislation of Education is harmful and illegal.
"The federal role in education is a violation of the 10th amendment of the United States Constitution which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government delegated the power to regulate or fund elementary or secondary education. " -(Jan 12 2000, HSLDA, Why Should Congress Abolish the Federal Role in Education?)
"We have seen that not only is federal involvement in education unconstitutional, but extremely impractical." -(Jan 12 2000, HSLDA, Why Should Congress Abolish the Federal Role in Education?)
"The federal government’s involvement in education represents everything that is wrong with so many of our government agencies: they are unconstitutional, wasteful, expensive, and out of touch. It is the duty of our congress to abolish not only the Department of Education, but the entire federal involvement in education. If Congress refuses to do its duty, the bureaucracy will continue to grow, and education will continue to decline." -(Jan 12 2000, HSLDA, Why Should Congress Abolish the Federal Role in Education?)
"I emphatically agree that the federal government has no constitutional authority to regulate education. I oppose most of the existing federal laws that allow the Washington bureaucrats to drive education policy." - (Scott Somerville- HSLDA - NHEN Legislative forum - Posted - September 09 2003: 10:32:35 AM)
HSLDA takes the following positions regarding why homeschoolers should not accept government funds:
"The state must hold recipients of taxpayer dollars accountable for how they use the funds. The flip side of the "free benefits" coin is not Lady Liberty—it's a door to increased "accountability checks": certified teacher oversight, curriculum approval, mandatory testing, and sometimes even home inspections. Ultimately, as these requirements grow, they will squelch one of the greatest benefits to home education—flexibility to accommodate each child's learning style and interest. Rather than more control, HSLDA believes there should be less control and interference with parents' rights to direct the education of their children. Nationally normed standardized test results indicate that home schooled students score on average 30 percentile points above the national average. Private home schoolers have demonstrated that state funding and regulation are not necessary to achieve academic excellence." -(June 26 2002, HSLDA, The Problem with Home-Based Charter Schools)
"America's Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to keep the state checked by the law in order to keep the private sphere truly free. When individuals accept state funds for private activities, the distinction between the state and the private sphere is blurred, self-government is weakened, and the state is further unleashed from the bounds of law to intrude upon the personal lives of its citizens. If the distinction between the state and the private sphere is damaged or falls, our whole constitutional system of government collapses." -(June 26 2002, HSLDA, The Problem with Home-Based Charter Schools)
"…liberty is at risk, however, if home schoolers begin drinking from the public trough. These are the same state governments that once heavily restricted or prohibited home schooling altogether. If home schooling families take government money or services through virtual charter schools, they will become dependent on government money and subject to increasing government regulation. Public schools and the state will once again acquire power to dictate home schoolers' curriculum, teacher qualifications, and methods." -(Jan/Feb 2002, HSLDA, The Court Report - Charter Schools)
"In Alberta, Canada, home schoolers enjoyed more liberty than almost any of the other provinces. Then several years ago, legislation was passed giving home schoolers $500 per child in government funds. The very next year, one of the most restrictive legislative bills was passed, implementing regulations for home schoolers. When asked why, the Minister of Education stated that if they were giving money to home schoolers, they had to know who they are and have certain standards. These regulations apply to all home schoolers--not only those who receive the government funding." -(Jan/Feb 2002, HSLDA, The Court Report - Charter Schools)
"We should not trade our freedom for services. Government services never come without strings attached. Because we've been fighting so long to get away from the government, it is illogical to go back to government handouts."
(August 25, 2003, HSLDA, Equal Access)
"Paying taxes which support government programs does not automatically give someone the right to participate in that program." (August 25, 2003 Equal Access)
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