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House Passes Dropout Bill
03/06/10 MRC/AP
Kentucky's nearly century-old policy on school dropouts would get updated under a bill that won House approval Thursday to keep students in class until age 18.
The measure, previously endorsed by Kentucky first lady Jane Beshear and basketball great Earvin "Magic" Johnson, cleared the House on a 94-6 vote. It now goes to the Senate.
Johnson offered his support at a Capitol press conference last month.
The legislation would raise Kentucky's minimum dropout age from 16 to 17 effective July 1, 2013. A year later, the minimum dropout age would go to 18.
The measure directs the Kentucky Education Department to support statewide strategies to prevent students from dropping out.
Democratic Representative Jeff Greer of Brandenburg, a lead sponsor of the measure, said the state's current dropout policy has been in effect since 1920.
Nearly 6,500 Kentucky students dropped out in the 2007-2008 academic year, about 3 percent of the state's public high school population, according to the state Department of Education. That rate was below the national average.
Greer said the bill would be an important step toward changing a culture in which some youngsters spend years waiting to turn 16 so they can quit school.
Greer also talked about the social costs associated with dropping out. They tend to earn considerably less and many ultimately rely on public assistance or end up in prisons, he said.
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