Staff Reports
A young man who runs into burning buildings was told he is not fit for a paid firefighter job because his high school diploma says he was homeschooled. The City of Fremont changed the job listing after rejecting him, and this week a Civil Service Commission said it could not undo the city’s decision. That is the exact problem here: paperwork beat bravery, and that should make everybody uncomfortable.
What happened in Fremont
Short version
Andrew Coates is a 22‑year‑old volunteer firefighter from Cedar Bluffs and a licensed Nebraska EMT. He applied in April for a paid firefighter job with the City of Fremont. Fremont rejected his application because his diploma shows he was homeschooled. After the rejection, the city updated the job posting to add the word “accredited.” Coates appealed to the Fremont Civil Service Commission. The commission heard the appeal but said it lacked authority to change city hiring policy and took no action, leaving the rejection in place.
Why this matters to public safety and fairness
Competence vs. credentials
This is not about whether Mr. Coates can do the job. He already pulls people out of burning buildings as a volunteer and holds an EMT license. It is about whether a city can retroactively change a rule to exclude a single applicant. That smells like bad faith. Fire departments are short on people. Turning away trained volunteers because a paper says “homeschooled” makes no sense for public safety or common sense.
Legal and policy angle: Rule 13 and municipal power
Who decides what a diploma is?
Nebraska allows “exempt” or Rule 13 homeschool diplomas that are not state‑accredited. Cities often prefer “accredited” diplomas, and many job postings use that language. The legal question now is whether Fremont gave fair notice and whether the city can apply the accreditation rule after the fact. The Civil Service Commission punted and said it couldn’t change policy, so the Coates family may have to go to court to get a ruling on whether the city acted properly. That is expensive and slow — and it is a lousy way to sort out something this simple.
Fix the policy. Hire the trained. Stop the paperwork theater.
Common sense request
Fremont leaders should ask one basic question: do you want firefighters who can save lives or people who have the right stamp on a piece of paper? If Mr. Coates can do the work and is already serving his neighbors, the city should find a way to hire him. If the city insists on an “accredited” rule, make that rule clear up front and apply it before you move to exclude a volunteer who is already proving his worth. Otherwise, this will look like a city choosing bureaucracy over bravery — and that is a choice voters should remember. Hire competence. Stop the paperwork theater.
