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City Rejects Firefighter’s Application over High School Diploma Showing He Was Homeschooled
The city added an accredited high school requirement after rejecting Andrew Coates, and the commission said it could not change city policy.
- In April, the Fremont Fire Department rejected 22-year-old volunteer firefighter Andrew Coates because his homeschool diploma was unaccredited, despite the original job posting requiring only "graduation from high school."
- After denying the application, Fremont amended the job description to explicitly require "graduation from an accredited high school," which HR director Jennifer McDuffee claimed was implied in the original posting.
- Backed by about 30 homeschool supporters, Coates appealed to the Civil Service Commission, arguing his state EMT license proves he is qualified despite the educational requirements.
- The Civil Service Commission declined to intervene, ruling it lacks authority to address city policy; chairman Steve Tellatin acknowledged the dispute stemmed from ambiguous original job requirements.
- With 30 days to file in court, Seth Coates, Andrew's father, stated the family intends to challenge the city's hiring practices regarding homeschool applicants.
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