Without a guidance counselor or advisor to assist them, college-bound home-schooled students rely heavily on personal research for scholarship information.

A new measure in the Arizona Legislature is attempting to lend those students a helping hand.

Senate Bill 1280 would require all state universities to publish eligibility criteria for merit-based scholarships and to inform all students about these scholarships within a “timely manner.”

“We are just trying to seek more transparency,” said Carol Shippy, a board member and legislative liaison for Arizona Families for Home Education, a nonprofit organization that helps homeschooling families.

Shippy, a mother of two home-schooled children, said some students are having an easier time finding scholarship criteria from out-of-state universities compared to Arizona schools.

“The parents are in the role that a school counselor would be in,” Shippy said. “We want it to be more accessible … for parents.”

This isn’t the first time state lawmakers have reached out to the homeschooling community.

A law passed in 1999 requires state universities to provide fair access to merit-based scholarships, giving home-schooled students the same opportunity as public and private school students.

The new measure would add to the state statute, making it necessary for state universities to publish the minimum test score requirements for scholarship eligibility.

More of the story…