They say you can’t fight city hall. But apparently, you can. You just have to make sure city hall knows the country is watching.
For five months, Andrew Coates’s family appealed to officials in Fremont, Nebraska, to change an employment policy that excluded homeschool graduates from becoming firefighters. Nothing changed—then the story went national. Andrew is a 22-year-old licensed EMT who has served two years as a volunteer firefighter in neighboring Cedar Bluffs. He has completed 78 hours of college with a 3.8 GPA and is working toward a degree in fire science. Yet when Andrew applied to the Fremont Fire Department in April, the city rejected his application because he was homeschooled.
The original job posting required only graduation from high school. But after rejecting Andrew, the city added the word “accredited,” which excluded Nebraska homeschool graduates. An informed administration would know that homeschool students, on average, actually perform better than their public school counterparts. ACT Research found that homeschooled students consistently earned higher average scores than public school students.
For months, Andrew’s father, Seth, appealed to city officials. The family wasn’t asking for a job. They just wanted him and other homeschool graduates to have an equal opportunity to compete on merit. But city hall didn’t budge. In fact, they didn’t even listen. They were silent. Then Andrew joined me on my daily program, “Washington Watch.” We told his story and asked Americans to contact the Fremont City Council respectfully—and they did. Andrew and his parents then joined us in Washington for our Pray Vote Stand Summit recently.
And this week, homeschool families packed a Fremont City Council meeting that normally draws only a handful of people. Pray Vote Stand Chapter leaders from surrounding counties were there, too. Seth told council members what he had taken home from Washington. He said, “We pray, we vote, we participate, we pay attention, and we hold those who serve accountable to the people they represent.”
After roughly an hour of discussion, eight council members needed about one minute to cast their votes. The vote was unanimous — five months of indifference, one minute of voting for five months. The council seemed blind to the injustice it had allowed. Then a torrent of emails and calls from across the nation flooded their inboxes. They complained about the deluge, but it finally moved City Hall to act. The council changed the policy, allowing homeschool graduates to qualify for city employment, including Andrew.
Citizens shouldn’t have to wait until an injustice becomes a national story before their government listens. When government stops listening, citizens have a responsibility to peacefully and lawfully make their voices heard.
