Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.A Nebraska state senator is on the same page with President Barack Obama when it comes to preventing high school dropouts.
The president, in his State of the Union address last week, challenged states to keep kids in school until they turn 18 or graduate from high school.
Nebraska's compulsory education law already does that, but State Sen. John Wightman says there's a substantial loophole he would like to close.
Wightman wants to repeal a provision in Nebraska law that allows 16-year-olds to drop out of school with parental permission.
"I think he's right on this issue," said Wightman, whose central Nebraska legislative district includes Gothenburg, Broken Bow and Lexington.
In Iowa, students can drop out at age 16, even without parental permission, though there have been past efforts to change the law.
The president's call to stiffen compulsory education laws could boost Wightman's Legislative Bill 996, which is up for a hearing Monday before the Legislature's Education Committee.
The Nebraska Association of School Boards, a private nonprofit organization representing the state's school boards, is looking cautiously at the proposed change, said John Spatz, executive director.
What appears to be a sensible change in law could have negative consequences, among them increased disciplinary problems, Spatz said.
If a 17-year-old is in school only because of the threat of prosecution, he said, "how conducive is that to the educational environment in the school district?"
Every state requires children to enroll in public or private schools or to be home-schooled, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twenty-six states, including Iowa, set the cutoff age at 16, the rest at age 17 or 18. Many, like Nebraska, offer exemptions under certain circumstances.
Obama in his speech said that "when students don't walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. When students are not allowed to drop out, they do better."
If LB 996 were approved, school would be mandatory until the age of 18, unless a child had already graduated.
Wightman said he introduced the bill at the request of the Lexington Public Schools superintendent. Dropping out not only hurts a student's chances of future success, but as Nebraska moves toward gauging performance of schools by graduation rates, districts with high numbers of immigrants like Lexington could be at a disadvantage, he said.
Wightman said that although pulling a child out at 16 may seem inconceivable to many parents, some immigrants come from cultures that don't emphasize the importance of education.
Lexington Superintendent Todd Chessmore said it's not an issue limited to immigrants.
"It's just not acceptable for kids to drop out for any reason. Why would we give a group of kids an out?"
He said sophomore year, when a child is typically 15 or 16, is a critical year. If a child can get through the year in pretty good shape he'll have a good chance of graduating, he said.
Nebraska Education Commissioner Roger Breed supports the change. The Nebraska Board of Education voted to back the bill.
Anything that keeps kids engaged until they have a high school diploma and assists parents in insisting that kids stay in school is good state policy, Breed said.
"If a kid knows he can drop out at 16 by just persuading his parents otherwise — and kids at that age can do that — then they start sliding at 15 and there's not much you can do about it," Breed said.
He said there are some situations where families decide it's more important in the short term for a teen to drop out and work or care for younger siblings, so they set aside the child's longer-term interests.
In cases where kids fall behind in school and view their situation as hopeless, schools should provide alternative pathways to graduation, he said.
When parents withdraw kids at age 16, it affects the graduation rate — Nebraska's is 85.8 percent, he said.
The Nebraska Department of Education does not keep statistics on how many kids drop out with parents' consent. However, for three consecutive school years — 2007-08 through 2009-10 — nearly nine times as many 16-year-olds dropped out as 15-year-olds.
Over that period, an average of 170 16-year-olds a year dropped out.
The Iowa graduation rate for the Class of 2010 was 88.8 percent.
Luanne Nelson, Omaha Public Schools spokeswoman, said the district does not keep data on how many kids bail at age 16.
Nelson said the district's legislative team hasn't had a chance to discuss the bill yet, but she said any law that keeps kids in school longer would probably be a good thing.
In Iowa, there have been efforts to raise the compulsory education age to 18, including a failed attempt to pass legislation last year.
Spokesmen for the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa State Education Association said they're not aware of any proposals this year.
Chris Bern, ISEA president, said a key concern with past attempts was making sure schools have resources to teach at-risk kids who would be compelled to stay in school.
Raising the age would not guarantee kids forced to stay in school would be successful, Bern said. Those students could be disruptive, he said.
Two years ago, a panel convened by Iowa lawmakers to study the issue reported that raising the age would deter some kids from dropping out. Struggling students, however, would need support if required to stay, such as mentoring, alternative pathways to graduation and behavioral interventions, it said.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1077, joe.dejka@owh.com
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