By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- The Fremont City Council voted Sept. 29 to change a policy that had rejected a non-accredited homeschool diploma as insufficient for a paid firefighter position.
- The city will now accept diplomas from non-accredited schools, including homeschools; the change directly applies to volunteer firefighter and EMT Andrew Coates’ application.
- Coates, who volunteers with Cedar Bluffs Fire, had been turned away from the paid Fremont Fire position earlier this year over his diploma’s accreditation status.
- Dozens of homeschool families attended the meeting in support of Coates, who was emotional when the council voted to reverse the policy.
- Councilman Paul Von Behren said the original decision was not intended to target homeschoolers specifically, but reflected a broader accredited/non-accredited diploma distinction.
FREMONT, Neb. — The Fremont City Council voted Sept. 29 to reverse a policy that had rejected a homeschool diploma as insufficient for a paid firefighter position, clearing the way for volunteer firefighter and EMT Andrew Coates to join Fremont Fire, according to WOWT.
The city will now accept diplomas from non-accredited schools, including homeschools, a change that applies directly to Coates’ application. Coates, a volunteer firefighter with Cedar Bluffs Fire and a licensed EMT, had been disqualified from the paid Fremont position earlier this year because his homeschool diploma did not come from an accredited institution.
Dozens of homeschool families attended Tuesday’s meeting in support of Coates, who was overcome with emotion when the council voted to overturn the policy.
Councilman Paul Von Behren said the original decision was not meant to single out homeschoolers specifically. “Unfortunately, this has been turned into a homeschooling issue. It really isn’t that. It started as an accredited, non-accredited, and in this case, the applicant was homeschooled,” Von Behren said. “So, it wasn’t really directed at that. It was just part of the way that it played out.”