CONCORD - On February 7, 2006, the Senate Education Committee reconvened the hearing on Senate Bill 268 , a bill raising the age of required attendance of children in school. The hearing on January 24, which was very well attended, was recessed because of its length.

The hearing opened with remarks from Senator Martel, one of the bill's sponsors, introducing students from his district, Manchester, who were present to testify. Jim Schubert, current Director of Alternative Education for Manchester opened with praise for alternative educational programs, and described the attributes of the Manchester PASS alternative education program that he believed had made it successful. Echoing comments in testimony from the previous day, he stated that raising the age of compulsory attendance without allocating the resources for alternative programs won't work. He stated that, "You can't save an individual who doesn't want to be saved, and you can't save them all." This was followed by testimony from eight students who are currently enrolled in the PASS program. All expressed satisfaction with the program, and hoped that more programs like it would be created. Several expressed skepticism that raising the age of compulsory attendance would be helpful. The segment closed with testimony from Senator Barnes, who did not support the increase in age, but who had visited the PASS program's facility and was very excited by what he saw there.

There followed a dizzying array of perspectives:

• Dick ? presented written testimony from the point of view of a businessman. He was impressed by a recent story in the Manchester Union Leader of a graduate of an alternative program that was able at age 22 to care for her dying father and bring the family together to make his last days more comfortable.
• Paul Leather, Director of Division of Adult Learning and Rehabilitation in the DOE, brought written testimony from Board of Education members who could not be present, and also a statement from Commissioner Tracy, which he read aloud. In it Tracy stated that the bill was "the right thing to do", that this was not about keeping students in class, but about making them take responsibility to prepare for adulthood. A list of programs and initiatives was presented, and he promised the department would seek additional funds to pursue alternative programs. He closed by saying there was no excuse for not passing the bill.
• Officer Brian Ballerino of a NH town police department, with 16 years in the force, during which he also sometimes served as a juvenile officer, stated that 10% of the population requires 90% of the policing effort, and that they're by and large uneducated. He repeated previously stated statistics about the correlation between lack of a diploma and social costs.
• NEA-NH President Karen McDonough testified that the governor approached the organization about this initiative in the fall, and her first reaction was that the 100-year-old compulsory attendance law had to change, since we were no longer an agrarian society. She admitted that, as a former teacher, she sometimes breathed a sigh of relief when certain students dropped out. She pointed out that early childhood educators often can recognize who is likely to drop out due to social issues, and spoke of the need for programs to address the needs of these children, both in the schools and in the communities. She pledged that NEA-NH's 16,000 members would work with the legislature to support the aims of this bill.
• Lieutenant Ken Kreuger from the NH National Guard brought comments from his commander, Major General Kenneth Clark. He believed that alternative learning programs were a tool to decrease the dropout rate, but they need the cooperation of organizations in the community. The National Guard is the largest employer in the state, and runs programs geared to ages 17 and up. He stressed that the National Guard was volunteering to help, and to be a part of the solution.
• Fran Meffan of the NH School Counsellors Association spoke of that organization's support for the bill, as the increased demands of employment create a need for a more educated populace, and even entry level jobs are requiring more education. She expressed the need for comprehensive K-12 counselling programs in every district, and listed the benefits of such programs that were likely to lead to a decreased dropout rate. She expressed the need for alternative programs, and also to network within the community to implement these programs. Finally she noted that increased parental involvment, beyond participation in the PTA, would be needed, and that legislation alone would not increase the graduation rate. When asked by Senator Green whether programs exist to meet the needs, she stated that career and technical opportunities were needed as early as the freshman year, but were only available to those over 16. She also had recently moved to Dover from Mascenic district, and noted that the latter was an "abyss" when it came to alternative programs. She recommended the creation of regional dropout prevention coordinators to help ensure that opportunities were available in all districts.
• Dawn Lincoln, a homeschooler, supported the flexibility in the bill, but wondered why it would not be available until age 16. She expressed concern about section 4 of the bill which removes the parental authority to withdraw a child from school, and was concerned about how this affects homeschoolers, since their reporting currently ends at age 16.
• Marie Ross, Superintendent of the Newfound Area School District, spoke in favor of the bill, and also brought statements from school board members in her district. She was excited about the new direction and leadership from Commissioner Tracy. She noted ways that raising the age of compulsory attendance would be helpful:
  • Many sixteen-year-olds who leave school anticipating getting a job are unable to find employment, and end up just hanging around
  • There is a court supervision gap - agencies will not provide CHINS coverage for students after age 16-1/2 because it takes nearly a year to process a petition, at which point its effectiveness is minimal.
  • Parents of dropouts are often at work, leaving the children at home unsupervised, where they often make poor decisions.
  • Kids do not drop out at age 16, they drop out years ahead in anticipation of reaching age 16.
  • A critical mass of dropouts lures peers to skip school; unwed mothers have "babysitter clubs" that are more fun than sitting in school.
• Peggy McAlister, Executive Director of the NH Association of School Principals provided both written and oral testimony. Her organization fully supports the bill. She spoke about the recent television commercial highlighting the problems that dropouts face. She was concerned that current law was allowing children to make decisions that would have a life-long impact, and they were making unwise ones.
• Michelle Guilbeault of the NH Lodging and Restaurant Association supported passage of the bill, followed by comprehensive development of career programs. Her organization had programs that integrated classroom theory with hands-on experiences.
• Chris Hamilton, a homeschooler, spoke about how parents are in a better position to judge the needs of their children, and that academics were only one part of a child's needs. She also provided evidence that Connecticut's high rate of school completion was not linked to their decision to raise the age of compulsory attendance, but to the education reforms put in place in the 1990's. She provided the committee with a written explanation of how SB268 would likely affect homeschoolers. Senator Estabrook queried whether simply changing RSA 193-A:1 to include children up to age 18 would solve the problem. Chris also addressed a misunderstanding on the part of Senator Estabrook that homeschoolers "took the same test as everyone else".
• Abbey Lawrence, a homeschooling mother of six, opposed the bill on principle, even if it would not affect homeschoolers, because the bill revokes the right of the parent to grant permission for the child to withdraw from school. She also offered her own children's experiences as counterexamples that a diploma was necessary for success as an adult, and encouraged legislators to give parents options for meeting their children's needs.
• Mark ? of the NH State Building and Construction Trades Council (?) expressed support for the bill, and pledged that members of his group would support the creation of programs.
• Joe Casey of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers discussed the organizations apprenticeship program. Last year, of 80 applicants to the program, only 50% had the educational background (high school diploma or equivalent) to qualify them to take the exam, and of those only 50% passed the exam. They would like to expand the program, but do not have sufficient qualified applicants. On an personal level, Mr. Casey said that he was not very interested in school as a teen, and he now appreciatd the push to graduate he got from caring adults.
• Sam Langley, a retired railroad worker, testifed that it does no good to force a child who doesn't want to to stay in school; it's a waste of his time and taxpayers' money. He stated that most courses in high school are geared to college prep, and that there are still jobs that don't need that kind of knowledge. As examples, he offered that trucking companies are desperate for drivers, and no diploma is needed for that job. He also stated that his former employer, the railroad company, has many openings for operations and maintenance crew workers. Mr. Langley believes that the real problem isn't lack of jobs, but the requirement by employers that applicants have diplomas whether they're necessary or not. He believes that is as wrong as denying employment based on a disability even when it is not relevant to the demands of the job.
• Don Gorman, former Representative and representing the NH Liberty Alliance, said the group supported some parts, but didn't like others. After hearing the testimony, he was inclined to think a study committee was needed. He saw many unions represented, and thought that would be helpful in creating opportunities for alternative learning programs.