We request that Maryland homeschool students receive the same tuition discounts as their public-school peers at community colleges. Though policies vary among community colleges throughout the state, often public schoolers are provided with half-priced or free dual enrollment classes while homeschoolers receive a lesser discount or none at all. For several reasons, we believe this policy should be adjusted to provide equal opportunities for all students.
First, homeschoolers pay the same taxes for schools that the parents of public-schooled students do. Nationally, homeschoolers save an estimated $27 billion because they are not using public school education resources (National Home Education Research Institute). Since homeschoolers do not receive the benefits from these taxes in the same way their public-schooled peers do, it seems that the least that could be provided for them is the same opportunities and benefits in higher education. The fact that they do not attend public school should not affect their other educational opportunities.
This issue has become all the more pressing in response to the pandemic. The homeschool population has surged, and it is more crucial than ever that these students have access to the same opportunities as their public-schooled peers. Especially considering the financial difficulties many of these families are now in, making sure tuition is not a barrier to education is more important than ever.
