Changes to the Byrd Scholarship favors homeschoolers

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

03 Mar 2009 09:55 AM

The Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program was created in 1985 and designed to recognize exceptional students. It awards scholarships of up to $6000 a year for eligible students.

Until now eligibility had excluded most homeschoolers. Here are the eligibility requirements:

An eligible student applicant must, during the same secondary academic year in which the scholarship is to be awarded: (1) be a graduate of a public or private secondary school or have received the recognized equivalent of a high school diploma (GED); (2) be a legal resident of the State in which he or she applies; (3) be a U.S. citizen or national of the United States or have evidence from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service that he or she is a permanent resident or is in the United States for other than a temporary purpose; (4) has applied or been accepted for enrollment at an institution of higher education; (5) certify that he or she is not ineligible to receive assistance as a result of default on a Federal student loan or other obligation; and (6) file, with the school that he or she plans to attend, a Statement of Selective Service Registration Status. A student attending a military academy is ineligible to receive a Byrd scholarship.

The words in bold are what have limited homeschool eligibility. In states where homeschools are considered as private schools, homeschool students may easily qualify. In other states, they are excluded.

The HSLDA has been working with the department of education to get the working changed in a way that would be favorable to all homeschool students.

Excerpt from HSLDA:

Homeschoolers won a major victory against discrimination when language opening up the Byrd Scholarship to home educated graduates passed quietly last year.

Included within the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (H.R. 4137), which was signed by former president George W. Bush on August 14, 2008, was language which made it clear that homeschool graduates are eligible for the Byrd Scholarship.

HSLDA is still working to make sure the wording of the scholarhip is favorable and free from interpretation that will exclude homeschoolers.

Full story from HSLDA here.

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Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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