Home Schooling

668.32 Student eligibility—general.

A student is eligible to receive title IV, HEA program assistance if the student—

. . .

(e)(1) Has a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent;

(2) Has obtained within 12 months before the date the student initially receives title IV, HEA program assistance, a passing score specified by the Secretary on an independently administered test in accordance with subpart J of this part; or

(3) Is enrolled in an eligible institution that participates in a State "process" approved by the Secretary under subpart J of this part; or

(4) Either--

(i) Has completed a secondary school education in a home school setting that qualifies as an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under State law; or

(ii) Has a home school completion credential (other than a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent) provided for under State law.

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This proposed change would concern two policy areas; student eligibility and institutional eligibility.

Student Eligibility

The change would affect a home-schooled student in a State that recognizes home schools either for the purpose of an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements or for the purpose of the award of a home school completion credential that is not a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent. Such a student would not have been eligible before this change simply by virtue of having completed home school. Under the new language, the student would be eligible under 668.32(e)(4).

The change would not affect a home-schooled student in a State that treats completion of a home school as the same as or the equivalent of completion of a traditional high school. Such a student would have been eligible under 668.32(e)(1) before this change and would continue to be eligible under that paragraph. Similarly, a home-schooled student who passed an ability-to-benefit test, would have been eligible under 668.32(e)(2) before this change and would continue to be eligible under that paragraph.

Currently, the Secretary has not approved any State "process" under 668.32(e)(3).

Note, however, that a home-schooled student's eligibility under any paragraph other than 668.32(e)(1) would not override the institutional eligibility requirement that a regular student who does not have either a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent be beyond the age of compulsory attendance in the State in which the institution is located (see below).

Institutional Eligibility

The change would not affect the institutional eligibility requirement under 600.4(a)(2) and 600.5(a)(3) (for a public or private non-profit institution, or a proprietary institution, respectively). To be eligible, an institution still would be able to admit as regular students only those who have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent, or who are beyond the age of compulsory attendance in the State in which the institution is located.

Therefore, as before, under the new language, an institution that admits as a regular student a home-schooled student (or any student) younger than the age of compulsory attendance who does not have either a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent, could jeopardize its eligibility.