‘Treated as second-class applicants’: Nebraska homeschooled graduate, volunteer firefighter rejected over diploma 

A Nebraska homeschooled graduate who wants to serve his community is facing a challenge that critics argue has nothing to do with his credentials but discriminates against his education.

“Outrage is erupting after a 22-year-old who runs into BURNING BUILDINGS as a volunteer firefighter was told he isn’t qualified to be a paid firefighter…because he was HOMESCHOOLED,” posted Matt Van Swol on X.

“Fremont, you have a licensed EMT and an active firefighter begging to serve your city. And you turned him down over paperwork, then rewrote the paperwork to cover it.”

‘You guys are discriminating against him’

In his post, Van Swol linked to a Sept. 18 video posted by Gray Media’s First Alert 6 (WOWT), the local NBC affiliate.

The article explains how Andrew Coates, already a volunteer for Cedar Bluffs Fire, had his job application to Fremont rejected “because his high school diploma shows he’s been homeschooled, which is an unaccredited education in Nebraska.”

“But after denying Andrew’s application, the city added ‘graduation from an accredited high school’ to the job description,” the affiliate noted.

Despite appealing to the Civil Service Commission, Coates failed to get the rejection overturned.

“An attorney represented Andrew in the hearing, which lasted about five hours,” First Alert 6 wrote. “Since the commission took no action, Andrew’s father says they have 30 days to file in court.”

Chris Lichtenberg, Cedar Bluffs fire chief, testified on Coates’ behalf during the commission hearing last week.

“I feel the city of Fremont’s really missing out here, and in my mind, because of his homeschooling, you guys are discriminating against him,” he said.

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) also criticized policies targeting graduates who may have nontraditional learning experiences.

“Homeschool graduates should not be treated as second-class applicants simply because their education took place outside of a traditional school building,” Titus Prude, the nonprofit’s media relations specialist, told Heartlander News.

“HSLDA believes in equal treatment for homeschool graduates, and discriminatory policies like this underscore why we strongly support statutes like the Home School Graduation Recognition Act.”

If social media reactions are any indication, Coates has plenty of supporters outside homeschool circles as well.

“Homeschoolers are literally a generation of kids who read ABOVE grade level, who work with their HANDS, who volunteer in their communities, who show up for their neighbors,” Van Swol concluded.

“And this young man is the proof.

“At 22, he’s a certified EMT and a volunteer firefighter, while plenty of his peers are on a couch.”

Amy Curtis, a writer at Townhall.com, predicted such policies could spell out “how the Left will ban homeschooling.”

“They will just create a world where you can’t get a job or go to college if you are homeschooled,” she wrote. “They will force parents’ hands.”

(Image credit: Screenshot/WOWT)