Boone County Schools are ready to receive dropouts returning to school.
As of July 1, students in Kentucky can no longer dropout of school before the age of 18. For 81 years the legal dropout age in the Commonwealth was 16.
The “Graduate Kentucky” bill as it’s called was approved by the state legislature in 2013 as Senate Bill 97. It mandates that each school district in the state must adopt a policy to raise the dropout age from 16 to 18.
The new law goes into effect in 166 of the 173 districts including Boone County for the 2015-2016 school year. The remaining six districts including Newport Independent will follow suit the following school year.
Dropout Law Implementation
Just like all other school districts in Kentucky, Boone County Schools is tracking down dropouts to tell them they must return to school this fall because of this new law. The only students exempt are those receiving their GED by June 30, those returning to private schooling or those being home schooled.
Mike Ford, president of the Kentucky Directors of Pupil Personnel board and Director of Attendance Services at Boone County Schools, said dropouts affected by the new law are receiving letters. He said the districts’ pupil personnel directors would talk are talking with principals about what programs could be offered this summer to get the dropouts back on track.
“Finding the students who dropped out is not going to be a problem, our biggest challenge, however, will be to identify resources for the former dropout that will give them the opportunity to get caught up.”
The state has provided each district with a $10,000 grant to plan for implementation of the increased dropout age. The grant must be spent for identification or intervention of students at risk for dropping out. Once these students are re-enrolled they have until age 21 to get their high school diploma.
A recent state law changed the age a student is required to graduate out of the system from 18 to 21. According to Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday the Commonwealth is already tracking students who have withdrawn from schools to be “home-schooled” to make sure they are not really just trying to drop out.
Kentucky Dropout Data
The most significant dropout factor is academic deficiency, a student getting behind in credit hours and not feeling they can catch up, gives up and drops out. Other factors include pregnancy, boredom and perceived bullying among others.
Of the 20,400 students attending Boone County Schools, 56 students have dropped out during the 2014-2015 school year, that is about 1 percent of total students. The median annual income of a high school dropout is $12,000. Nationally, high school dropouts commit about 75 percent of crimes and 82 percent of prisoners are high school dropouts.
The National Center for Education Statistics figures shows Kentucky’s graduation rate for the 2012-2013 school year was 86 percent beating the U.S. average. These are the most recent statistics available.
The state Department of Education says only nine states have a higher rate and six are tied with Kentucky. The national rate is 81 percent.
From Boone County Schools
To state perceived bullying as a reason to drop out. Many of the kids are bullied, and school and district does nothing about it. Dropping out is the only way for these childer to escape the situation and in many case to feel safe. If you force childer who are bullied to return to the same situation, you will have an increase in run-a-ways and suicides.
Many child drop out to get jobs to help out their households. There are many family who live in porverty, yet are not qualified for government assistant.
You need to find out the true reason they childer are dropping out and fix it, not just though legal action, when they are probably aleard in a difficut situation. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.!