HSLDA	May 25, 2005

SPEECH OF HON. MARK E. SOUDER

On May 25, 2005, Representative Mark Souder (R-IN-3) made a statement on the House floor to oppose the recent discrimination against homeschoolers in the military. In 1999, the Defense Authorization Bill began a five year pilot program for homeschool recruits, ranking graduates with a homeschool high-school diploma as Tier I recruits. But the program was removed in 2004 because of a high attrition rate among homeschoolers, mainly caused by challenges in informing recruiters what constitutes a legitimate homeschool graduate. In speaking to his fellow Congressmen, Representative Souder took a strong stand in support of homeschoolers and promises to soon introduce a bill to address the problem.

SPEECH OF
HON. MARK E. SOUDER
OF INDIANA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2005

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, recently I was made aware of a discriminatory policy within the Department of Defense that is preventing some of America's best young people from enlisting in the military. At a time when we need as many individuals as are interested to consider a career in the military, it is outrageous that the DoD is turning away home school students--a group of young people who happen to be, generally speaking, very mature, smart, well-disciplined and highly patriotic. What more is our military looking for? If any students should qualify for priority enlistment it is these students!

Instead, however, a young man in my district was recently informed that he would have an extremely difficult time being accepted into the Air Force merely because he was educated at home. He was told that home-schooled students were categorized as Tier 2 applicants--the same category in which high school dropouts are classified. Upon further inquiry by my office, the Air Force confirmed that, yes, home school applicants could not be considered on a level playing field with other high school graduates and that, "as a rule, less than 1 percent of [the Air Force's] annual non-prior service accessions [would] be alternate credential holders." Additionally, even if a home school student is accepted into a branch of the military, the fact that he or she started in Tier 2 means that they will not qualify for the same benefits and positions available to traditional high school students.

I am aware that a 5-year pilot project was initiated in 1998 that allowed home-schoolers greater access to the Armed Services by considering them as Tier 1 applicants. While the project was extended an additional year, it expired without further extension on September 30, 2004. In January of this year, the DoD appeared to make an effort to remove remaining obstacles to home-schoolers entering the military. However, the memo that was issued contained conflicting language, and ultimately, the classification of home school students as Tier 2 applicants remains on the books, perpetuating the military's policy of discrimination.

While the Army has recently found a way to get around the Tier 2 categorization, the other branches of the military are still excluding home school students from priority consideration. It doesn't matter how qualified and motivated a home school student may be, it is highly unlikely that he or she will be able to serve their country in the Marines, Navy or Air Force.

Mr. Speaker, I raise this disturbing situation to the House today to highlight the lack of fairness and equality within our military with respect to home school students. While I will not be offering an amendment today, it is my intention to introduce a bill soon to address this problem. I sincerely hope that with the Armed Services Chairman's support, we will be able to find a resolution to this issue that will enable all qualified students to live out their dream of serving their country in the U.S. Armed Services.