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Residents urge Fremont to reverse "accredited" diploma requirement for city jobs
Summary
Several Fremont residents told the council that the city's new requirement for an "accredited" high-school diploma excludes lawful Nebraska homeschool and nonaccredited private-school graduates and may conflict with state guidance; they urged council review and an independent Civil Service inquiry into recent firefighter hiring decisions.
Scott Preston and other Fremont residents used the public-comment period to press the City Council to reverse a recent change that requires an "accredited" high-school diploma for city employment.
Scott Preston said statewide test and college-entry measures show low proficiency among public-school students and argued the city's new requirement unfairly privileges accredited diplomas. "This city is plainly and intentionally discrediting not only the education homeschoolers have given to their children," Preston said, urging the council to accept diplomas issued under lawful Nebraska pathways.
Stephanie Preston, a longtime homeschooling parent, described the time and record‑keeping families provide under Nebraska Rule 13 and Rule 14 programs and asked the council to define what it means by "accredited" and to restore the prior hiring standard that required only a high-school diploma.
Seth Coats pressed a legal argument on the record, citing Nebraska statutes and written guidance from the state's GED administrator that, in his view, make the city's directive — that homeschool graduates obtain a GED to qualify for employment — inappropriate. Coats asked the council to direct an independent review, including the Civil Service Commission, to determine whether minimum qualifications were changed or reinterpreted after hiring processes began. "The directive to homeschool graduates by the city of Fremont to obtain a GED is not only inappropriate, but it is contrary to Nebraska law," he said.
Council members did not immediately change the policy during the meeting. Speakers asked the council to place the topic on a future agenda with clear definitions of "accredited" and with staff-provided legal analysis to explain the city's basis for the change.
Next steps: residents requested that the council schedule a formal agenda item to review hiring rules, define "accredited" for city hiring, and consider directing an independent Civil Service review if needed.
