Governor Lynch's effort to raise New Hampshire's compulsory education age to eighteen got a hearing in the House Education committee.
Governor John Lynch told the Committee that allowing kids to drop out of school at sixteen is a rule that's more than one hundred years old.
And says Lynch, a lot has changed since 1903.
today a high school diploma is the minimal price of admission for a better job and in fact a better life. we can't compete in a 21st century global economy with 20th century educational laws. that's why i'm asking you to support this legislation and change the law to require our students to stay in school until age 18.
Lynch says research shows that on average dropouts make less money than graduates when they get into the workforce.
And he said nearly 80 percent of the prison population is made up of drop-outs.
The Governor has already gotten through to the State Senate.
That body has already passed the measure.
Senate Democrat Iris Estabrook of Durham is one of the bill's prime sponsors.
She says the proposed changes wouldn’t force students to stay in school against their will.
She says the legislation allows for schools to shape alternatives to help students meet their educational requirements.
if a student wants to work during the day, and take a class at night. fine. just have a plan that leads down the road to goal of receiving your high school diploma or GED.
The bill's critics said they'd like to see the dropout rate in the state decline.
But they didn't agree that raising the age would accomplish that goal.
Several cited a Cornell University study that, they said, found no correlation between raising the age and lifting graduation rates.
In fact, they said the study found in some states, the graduation rate went down after a state raised the compulsory age.
Representative Dan Itse of Fremont cited that study.
He also opposed the bill as a father of homeschoolers.
Itse says many home schooled kids complete high school work well before they're eighteen.
the bill as proposed will effectively make them presumed criminals. if they're out an about without proof that they have completed school, then they can be arrested for truancy.
Another source of opposition came from Londonderry's school superintendent.
Nate Greenberg says his schools already offer many programs to students at risk of dropping out.
But he says, despite those programs some 30 to 35 students leave school every year.
And he says those kids have needs that are outside what most schools can offer.
there's a drastic shortage in drug and alcohol services for kids. and we are finding a significant number of kids we can't reach having drug and alcohol problems. there is no place for us to send kids in state for job corp programs. right now if you want to send a youngster to a job corp program they've got to go to massachusetts, they've got to go to vermont. there's no place here.
Greenberg also said schools need more opportunities set up internships and apprenticeships at businesses around the state.
The bill does set up a pilot program for vocational education in Nashua and Manchester for two years.
The pilot will cost the state about 600 thousand dollars a year.
The cost for raising the cumpulsory age to 18 is much less well defined.
Supporters say much of the money is already in the education budget, and needs to be reallocated.
But critics say the bill creates an unfunded mandate, and its costs will be borne by local taxpayers.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
As if teacher don't have a hard enough time with the kids who want to be there. Now lets add students who want out, and will drag down the rest. Brilliant.
This is trouble, and naive.