Increases the compulsory school age to eighteen and extends age eligibility for high school to under twenty-two years of age

Existing law

Currently the law requires students to attend school until the end of the school year in which they turn 16, Current law also states that a student over the compulsory attendance age may be dropped from enrollment after 20 consecutive missed school days. The pupils "right to re-enroll", regardless of the reason for their absences, is based on the principal or superintendents judgement of the pupil's excuse and whether in their opinion changes in the pupil's educational program would encourage and facilitate his or her re-entry or continuance of study.

Finally, current law determines that only persons under 21 are eligible for public school.

Justification

The compulsory education age of 16 was set in 1894, an era of different needs and priorities, when farming families needed their children to begin work at an early age. The demands of modem society have made the completion of further education, beginning with the high school diploma, necessary to the well being of today's children.

Raising the compulsory education age to 18 increases the likelihood that minors will complete their high school education by making it more difficult for teenagers to give up on school and drop out.

Additionally, many pupils between the ages of 16-18 face personal and familial situations that require their absence from school for an extend period of time. In overburdened school districts many of these students are denied re-entry under current provisions that allow school officials to reject students that miss 20 consecutive days and are unable to finish their high school degrees or pursue higher education. Students who do gain re-entry are often unable to complete their necessary requirements for graduation before they reach the age of 21 and age out.

Increasing the compulsory attendance age to 18 would require schools to readmit students absent for over 20 consecutive days without deliberation. Raising eligibility for enrollment to under age 22 will allow students who do continue their studies to finish their degrees before aging out of the system.

This act will, therefore, extend the opportunity for persons capable of attending school to avoid being precluded from completing their high school education due to age or absence stipulations currently mandated under the education law.

Long term, this act will help ensure a better quality of life for minors who otherwise would have been forced out or had the option to drop out of high school before graduating. This measure will also ensure that students become productive members of society rather than a burden on the economy of New York.

As the compulsory education law is fundamentally a child protective statute, intended to ensure every child receive the schooling (s)he needs to function in the adult world, an extension of the compulsory school attendance age range to include all ages at which an individual is considered a minor under the law (18), is appropriate.

Several other states have comparable compulsory school attendance requirements. California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and America Samoa have all established 18 as the compulsory education age, recognizing that a 16 year old child does not have the maturity to make a decision that will significantly affect their employment opportunities for the rest of their lives.

Legislative history

S.4686 - 2007/08 Referred to Education

Fiscal implications

Undetermined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.