John Newman appeared on track to land a job at a manufacturing plant in his Indiana hometown in May, two years after he graduated high school. His father Ryan works at an affiliated plant, so the position seemed an especially good fit—until company officials learned he had been homeschooled (names changed for privacy).
A third-party background check service raised questions about the validity of John’s diploma, prompting plant officials to ask for documentation that isn’t available to homeschooled students under Indiana state law.
At that point Ryan pursued all the options he could think of for remedying the situation—including contacting HSLDA. Our legal team put together an intervention plan that ultimately proved successful.
“We could tell the company really wanted to hire this grad,” said Darren Jones, HSLDA senior counsel. “But when the background check people said that they were unable to verify the entity that issued John’s diploma as a bona-fide school, plant officials scrambled to figure out what would work as alternative credentials. Unfortunately, they weren’t familiar with state law.”
Success Called into Question
Ryan said the situation was especially frustrating for several reasons. His other son had entered college on the strength of his homeschool diploma and had earned a degree in accounting. And John had already completed most of the hiring process at the manufacturing plant, proving that he was qualified for the job.
“He had gone through all the interviews, the drug screening, the physical, and all the other paperwork they needed,” Ryan recalled. “The next thing was confirmation of his start date.”
Instead, the company gave John a deadline to produce paperwork from state officials confirming his parents had complied with homeschool law.
“We sent them our son’s transcripts and a copy of his diploma,” said Ryan. “But the company said, ‘We don’t see anywhere where it’s state-certified.’ ”
Making a Difference
With time running out, Jones wrote a letter to the company on John’s behalf, explaining Indiana law and why the request for state homeschool verification was unreasonable. This is because in Indiana, homeschools operate as non-accredited private schools and are not generally required to report to the government.
“I also informed company officials about a relatively new Indiana law that specifically recognized homeschool diplomas,” Jones said. “And I reminded them that, since colleges and the federal government accept homeschool diplomas on their own merits, this company should, too.”
Meanwhile, Ryan also contacted the president of his local union, who offered to speak to company management on John’s behalf. The multiple avenues of advocacy worked.
The very same day Jones sent his letter, the company reached out to John to offer him a job. He began working at the plant early in June.
“We’re so pleased to have been able to assist this graduate,” said Jones. “Our efforts were bolstered by the fact Indiana has a new law recognizing homeschool diplomas, which came about because of the advocacy of home educating families. It just goes to show how together we can defend and expand homeschool freedom.”