House Bill 403: Raises the Compulsory Attendance Age

Author:
Representative McInvale

Summary:
Authorizes district school board policy to raise compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18.

Status:

12/23/2005		(H) Referred to prek-12 (EDC); Juvenile Justice (JC); Education Appropriations (FC); Education Council
05/05/2006		(H) Passed out of committee

HSLDA's Position:
HSLDA is opposed to this bill.

Action Requested:
No action requested at this time.

Background:

Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the best high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.)

Twenty-nine states only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn.

It would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. Some 16-year-olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom.

Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. When California raised the age of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer.

Other Resources

Mar.-27-2006—Florida—Calls Needed Immediately!

Bill Text

Bill History

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