Fires and firefighters

Volunteer Firefighter Denied Paid Position Over Homeschool Status

Is Fremont quietly rewriting the rules to shut homeschoolers out or just fixing poor paperwork on a hiring standard?

Published SEP 22

Volunteer Firefighter Denied Paid Position Over Homeschool Status

Story

Above: A stock photo of firefighter gear. Image credit: Unsplash

The Facts

Fremont, Nebraska's Civil Service Commission held a hearing Friday on Andrew Coates' petition after the city rejected his firefighter application, and the commission determined it could not address city policy, according to local reports.
FireRescue1
Fox Carolina
Coates, 22, is a volunteer firefighter with Cedar Bluffs Fire and a state-licensed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). His application to the Fremont Fire Department was turned down in April because his high school diploma indicated that he had been homeschooled.
Firehouse
13 Action News WTVG
The original Fremont job posting required graduation from high school or a GED. Human resources director Jennifer McDuffee said an accredited diploma was implied, and the city later amended the listing to specify an accredited high school.
Matt Van Swol on X
Fox Carolina
Nebraska treats homeschools as non-approved, non-accredited private schools. Families must file for exempt status under Rule 13, opting out of state approval while still meeting the mandatory school attendance law, the state Education Department says.
Firehouse
FireRescue1
The Nebraska Department of Education counted 14,613 exempt or homeschooled students in 2023-24, with about 64% citing religious reasons. Exempt enrollment rose by more than 5,000 in 2020-2021 and has stayed elevated since.
FireRescue1
Firehouse
Officials in Omaha said the issue has not arisen there, noting the city accepts a diploma, a GED, a state-filed report of completion of program of instruction or admission to a Nebraska college. Coates' father said they have 30 days to file in court.
13 Action News WTVG
First Alert 6

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

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The Spin

Narrative A

A licensed EMT who already runs into burning buildings for free got turned down by Fremont over one word on a diploma, then the city quietly slipped "accredited" into the posting after the fact. That's a cover-up. Homeschoolers outscore their peers and show up for their neighbors, and punishing them with credential games is how educational freedom gets strangled without a single law being passed.

The Western Journal

Matt Van Swol on X

Narrative B

Nebraska leaves it to the hiring agency and Omaha already accepts a report of completion or college admission as proof. The fix is simple paperwork and better screening tools, like entrance exams, physical tests, background checks and academies that test the person, not the paper his credentials are printed on. With volunteer ranks at record lows, fencing off one in thirty graduates is self-sabotage.