Facebook Quietly Welcomes Homeschoolers

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

05 Dec 2008 07:33 AM

Earlier this year when I mentioned that Facebook was not open to homeschoolers, I was mistaken. Facebook began accepting homeschoolers in June of this year.

Before then and probably for some time after, homeschoolers who wanted to join the social networking group had to learn a very important teenage skill. Website hacking. Determined homeschool kids figured out that they could join under a local highschool and get their high school buddies to verify them. Others realized they could lie about their age since adults that are not affiliated with any educational institution have been able to join the site since 2006. Even then, they had to remain secretive about their homeschool affiliation as there seemed to be a witch hunt of sorts to toss homeschoolers off the site.

Ah, but then the homeschoolers rallied:

Home-schooled teens are being kicked off the social networking site Facebook.com. The site bans home-schooled kids from joining the site because without a valid school e-mail address, their identity can not be verified. Lockhart teen, Jennifer Smith, says the policy is not fair. "I was shocked and upset and I was really confused," she said. Facebook says they do not plan to change this policy any time soon. It is a tool they use to make sure sexual predators are not using their site. Some home-schooled teens and their parents have stated a petition online hoping to push Facebook to change their policy.

Just a few short months later, came the following quiet announcement on the Facebook blog.

Back in September 2006, we decided to open up Facebook to everyone. Well, almost everyone. For security purposes, users under the age of 18 were required to affiliate with their current high school, but it was nearly impossible to extend this system to homeschooled users... We've been working on ways to solve this-we want minors to use Facebook safely above all. Today, we're happy to announce that we've recently come up with a way for homeschoolers to join. We've created a new verification system-one that doesn't depend on being in a high school, but still provides the level of security we believe is required. So welcome, everyone, to Facebook.

Like I said the welcome banner to homeschoolers was kept on the down-low perhaps to not aggravate those homeschoolers who were not aware there was an issue in the first place. So if you are a homeschooler wanting to use facebook, but not wanting to lie about your status to join, that is no longer an issue. Go on over. The water is fine.

Facebook: A Parents Guide

More about facebook and social issues

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.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger