This past week while I was looking for information for a mom asking an enlistment question on a homeschool email list, I came across a National Guard page with a link to HSLDA’s site. Not only does the link go to the HSLDA website, but the National Guard page tells online readers that the requirements for homeschooled grads who want to apply to the National Guard for enlistment are listed at the HSLDA page.
I was surprised by this revelation because it is highly unusual for a military service to use a civilian organization to disseminate its official information. Of course, a civilian organization might copy the information and display it, but the primary source should be the military service itself. For the service to provide a URL to an external site, alongside the logo of the site’s business goes against Army regulations because of the appearance of endorsement. The National Guard site has an asterisked disclaimer about endorsement, but that is outweighed by the inclusion of the HSLDA logo, and that HSLDA’s site is hosting the requirements.
Army Regulation 210–22, Private Organizations on Department of the Army Installations
Chapter 4
Participation in Activities of POs Operating on Army Installations
4–2. Limitations on Army personnel
a. In an official capacity, Army employees (military or civilian) will remain neutral in dealing with POs. The accommodation of one organization over another will be avoided, and there will be no preferential treatment or even the appearance of favoritism.
(1) Private organizations will receive no special treatment because they promote Army goals or support the military community.
(2) What the Army permits one organization to do, it must be ready to permit other similar types of POs to do.
(4) Army employees will not use
their titles, offices, or positions in connection with their personal
(5) Giving the appearance that
membership in certain organizations is officially sanctioned by the Government
will be avoided. Officer professional development (ODP), noncommissioned
officer professional development or other official settings will not be used as
occasions for promoting any specific
I’m presuming that the condition of “operating on an Army installation” could be expanded to links on an Army website (since the regulation also applies to the National Guard), and that linking to an external website on which the National Guard’s requirements are listed, does give the appearance that the civilian website officially represents the National Guard.
In 2005, a U.S. Army recruiting page at goarmy.com featured a page for homeschoolers in which the URL ended with /hslda. Many homeschoolers wrote to complain and the URL was changed to /homeschool. The /hslda URL still redirects to the /homeschool page. http://www.goarmy/hslda
The official sanction of HSLDA by the National Guard is further underlined by the content of the requirements.
National Guard Homeschool Path to Honor: Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility: To be eligible for the National Guard Homeschool Path to Honor, all applicants must be non-prior service (NPS) Army Home Study Diploma (AHSCH) (sic) juniors, seniors, and graduates or the equivalent would include AHSCH students with a valid GED as well as currently enrolled college students with a AHSCH diploma. In addition, a qualified AHSCH graduate will possess ONE or more of the following (a., b., or c., as applicable): …
c. A homeschool diploma and transcript from the parent(s) or guardian(s) accompanied by a third party verification memorandum. Only one third party verification memorandum is necessary. The following are only examples of third party verification: …
2. A memorandum from the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (if the family is a member in good standing) verifying that the homeschool graduate's program was in compliance with the State's compulsory attendance law.
f. Homeschool graduates include only those students who graduated at age 19 or younger. Those who received homeschool diplomas at age 20 or older must submit supporting documents for review and a determination for an exception to policy. Such an exception can be obtained from the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (service available for members in good standing).
From start to almost finish, this document is flawed.
Army Home Study Diploma (AHSCH)
How did the HSLDA writer ever determine that the letters AHSCH stand for “Army Home Study Diploma?” If that were the case, the letters would be AHSD. That is, they would be if any such thing as an “Army Home Study Diploma” existed, which it doesn’t. The letters AHSCH stand for “alternate high school credential holder.” (page 21, Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Military Affairs, Strategic Plan FY 2004 - 2008 )
On one level, it is petty to point out that AHSCH does not stand for “Army Home Study Diploma.” The writer did not check the meaning of the acronym, and appears to have invented a meaning. This would not be a fatal flaw if it were not that the National Guard is using this piece of writing to advise homeschooled grads about the eligibility requirements. That is unacceptable, especially when the organization hosting the requirements wants to set itself up as the decider of who has or has not earned a high school diploma.
Third-party verification by HSLDA of a graduate’s diploma.
This language comes from the 2003 and 2005 versions of
HSLDA’s proposed “Home School Non-discrimination Act” I wrote about that at The Military
Homeschooler website, and the December 2005 newsletter from the Wisconsin Parents
Association, included a short examination of the question of “third-party
verification” for homeschooled children.
Federal Homeschooling Legislation Raises Increasing Problems
For one thing, such a law [Home
School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005] would generate business for HSLDA and
increase their membership. But such certification will not work. Any
organization certifying homeschoolers cannot maintain its credibility if it
simply certifies anyone who requests it. But if the organization is not going
to certify everyone, it will have to set some criteria for who is a bona fide
homeschooler, which means they will be defining homeschooling and deciding who
qualifies as a homeschooler.
- Exception to policy for graduates over the age of 20 granted by HSLDA
First off, for this exception to be granted, the recruit’s
family must be HSLDA members. Again, we
have the violation of AR 210- 22.
(5) Giving the appearance that membership in certain organizations is officially sanctioned by the Government will be avoided.
No, the requirements do not say that the recruit must apply to HSLDA for the exemption, but no other organization is named. This is not the appearance that HSLDA membership is officially sanction, this is all but a de facto requirement of HSLDA membership.
In looking around the HSLDA website, I found a page stating
that HSLDA employees helped draft National Guard policy.
National Guard opens doors to homeschoolers. (see highlighted portion of image)
A civilian from a private organization outside the military service drafting policy for that service goes beyond unusual. That situation would seem to break public law. Persons who volunteer to help a military service are not to be placed in a position of making policy.
(b) Requirements and Limitations.
(3) With respect to a person providing voluntary services accepted under subsection
(a), the Secretary concerned may not—
(A) place the person in a policy-making position; …
The drafting of policy by non-DoD personnel is unacceptable.
The National Guard entry requirements for homeschoolers must be re-written without preference given to HSLDA, and the requirements must not be primarily hosted at an off-site page from the National Guard site.
As of 12 Jul 09, the goarmy/hslda URL no longer functions.
Posted by: Valerie | 12 July 2009 at 06:21 PM
Notes from A Reader:
====================
I pulled the code off the redirect page. The javascript serves up the images that makes this page and redirects all instances of "/hslda/index.jsp" to the location "/homeschool/." Also recorded are referring URL (in this case http://happy_as_kings.typepad.com/happy_as_kings/2005/10/increasingly_bu.html) and my IP address.
They apparently are specifically keeping track of the goarmy/hslda/ traffic. Somewhat creepy, a little odd to my thinking, but not weird by current privacy standards.
==========================
Posted by: Valerie | 13 July 2009 at 12:24 PM