Legislation altering the requirements for home-schooled students to receive the Opportunity Scholarship for South Dakota’s public universities passed the House Thursday. On Wednesday, House Bill 1128 fell to a tie. The bill came back Thursday, but with an amendment. The legislation now requires home-schooled students to score a 26 on the ACT—that’s less than the current state standard of 28. Some legislators have concerns. Representative Ray Ring says there’s a reason why standards exist.
“Making that change is a mistake. I have no doubt that many people who home school their children require a rigorous set of courses. I don’t think this is a good way to deal with it. We set a set of standards, or our predecessors set some standards, and they’re some what arbitrary—28’s arbitrary, the courses chosen are arbitrary—but we set a set of standards and I think we should stick to that. We can’t make an adjustment for every specific situation where somebody feels like they’ve not been treated fairly,” Ring says.
Supporters say the bill intends to level the playing field. They say home-schooled students shouldn’t be punished for their choice of education. The bill narrowly passed the House 37 to 32. It goes next to the Senate.