TN Lottery Scholarships & ACT Scores: Unequal Protection of the Law

[doeriver]

You might want to pass along this information to any graduate of a Tennessee public high school who may have been denied a Tennessee Lottery scholarship due low scores on either the English or Science Reasoning sections of the ACT college entrance exam - it seems to me as though the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (a non-profit chartered by the State of Tennessee) is violating both the Fourteen Amendment Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution and Tennessee State Law by lessening the participation and reporting of certain sections of the ACT college entrance exam for home/church schooled students:

Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The ACT college entrance exam consists of sections in English, Math, Reading, Science Reasoning, and an optional writing test - meaning that a typical freshman scholarship applicant (i.e.: a public high school graduate) for a Tennessee Lottery scholarhip will generally be ranked on weighted scores from the only the ACT English, Math, Reading, and Science Reasoning sections:

TENNESSEE HOPE SCHOLARSHIP (Application)
http://www.tn.gov/collegepays/mon_college/hope_scholar.htm
Award amount - $4,000 for 4-year institutions (and 2-year schools offering on-campus housing); $2,000 for 2-year institutions (no more than cost of attendance)

• Entering freshmen must have a minimum of a 21 ACT (980 SAT), exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests OR
  
• Overall weighted minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA)
  
• Home School graduates – minimum 21 ACT (980 SAT), exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests
  
• GED Applicants – minimum 525 and 21 ACT (980 SAT), exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests
  
• If a student ceases to be eligible for HOPE, except for GAMS and HOPE Access Grant, the student may regain HOPE, one-time only.

Tennessee Code Annotated 49-4-907. Eligibility requirements. — (Tennessee HOPE scholarship)
To be eligible for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship as an entering freshman, a student, who graduated from an eligible high school after December 1, 2003, upon having completed curriculum requirements of the high school for graduation, shall:

• (1) Meet the requirements of §§ 49-4-904 and 49-4-905;
  
• (2) Be admitted to and enroll in an eligible postsecondary institution no later than sixteen (16) months after graduation from high school; and
  
• (3)(A)(i) Achieve a final overall weighted high school grade point average of at least 3.0; or
  
• (ii)
  
• (B) Attain a composite ACT score of at least 21 on any single ACT test date or a combined SAT score of at least 980 on any single SAT test date.

...and now consider the more relaxed Tennessee state agency rules regarding the acceptance of Tennessee Lottery Scholarship ACT qualification scores from home schooled and/or church associated students:

Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program (TELS) (Promulgated Rules)
http://www.tn.gov/collegepays/mon_college/lottery_scholars.htm#form

Homeschool (and non-category I, II, III School) Student Requirements:

For HOPE Scholarship eligibility, a homeschool student must:
Be enrolled as a homeschool student in a homeschool program for a minimum of two (2) years prior to graduating. The student must achieve a 21 Composite score or above, on a national test date for the ACT test or a 980 (math plus critical reading scores only) or above, on a national test date for the SAT test for HOPE Scholarship consideration. The student does not need to submit a grade point average as this is not a consideration. For more information, please call 1-800-342-1663 or [phone]...

For General Assembly Merit Scholarship (GAMS) eligibility, a homeschool student must:
In addition to meeting the HOPE scholarship requirements, during the course of a homeschool program, be enrolled in at least four (4) college-level courses totaling at least twelve (12) semester hours and achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. The student must achieve a 29 Composite score or above, on a national test date for the ACT test or a 1280 (math plus critical reading scores only) or above, on a national test date for the SAT test for GAMS consideration.

***
For additional information:

Home Schooling in Tennessee - Tennessee Department of Education
http://www.state.tn.us/education/homeschool/

[doeriver]

1. rather SAT scores?

...980 (math plus critical reading scores only) or above, on a national test date for the SAT test for HOPE Scholarship consideration

...or a 1280 (math plus critical reading scores only) or above, on a national test date for the SAT test for GAMS consideration.

[doeriver]

2. fizzled out

fizzled out