Homeschool Graduate Denied Opportunity to Join Fire Department

The ability to risk your life for others apparently depends on a piece of paper, or at least that seems to be the case in Nebraska.

News Channel 7 reports:

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT/Gray News) – A volunteer firefighter for Cedar Bluffs Fire says he is hoping to make saving lives his full-time role.

“Making a career out of it would be the goal: to get paid to do what you love,” 22-year-old Andrew Coates said.

Coates applied to the Fremont Fire Department to further that goal, but the city rejected his application because his high school diploma indicated he was homeschooled, which is an unaccredited form of education in Nebraska.

“We’re not mad … I think now it’s turned into we want to make sure that every homeschooler has an equal opportunity,” Coates said.

The 22-year-old argues he’s more than qualified to become a paid firefighter because he holds a state EMT license.

When Coates applied for the job, the opening mentioned only “graduation from high school.” But the city’s human resources director said an accredited high school was implied.

“I would say it’s a standard understanding that when someone requests a high school diploma or GED that they’re asking for an accredited diploma,” Jennifer McDuffee, Fremont human resources director, said.

After denying Coates’ application, the city added “graduation from an accredited high school” to the job description.

I don’t know about you, but “Where did you go to high school?” isn’t on my list of things to ask someone saving me from a burning building.

This entire situation is ridiculous, and I honestly can’t believe we are still having this conversation in 2026.

The stats on homeschooling are consistent and leave little room for arguing. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschoolers “typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests (Ray, 2010, 2015, 2017; Ray & Hoelzle, 2026).”

Still not impressed? Well, here are some more lovely numbers, which indicate “Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income. (Ray, 2013, 2010; Ray & Hoelzle, 2026)”

Still need more? Okay, well, “Home-educated students typically score above average on the SAT and ACT tests that colleges consider for admissions. (Ray, Hoelzle, & Pietersma, 2026).”

If you need any more data, you’re just a hater at this point.

Denying this young man a job opportunity has nothing to do with his competency, and everything to do with discriminating against homeschoolers. I hope Coates opts to fight this ridiculous requirement or that another (smarter) fire department snatches him up for a job. Home School Legal Defense Association needs a Bat-Signal or something for moments like this.

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