Senate Bill 268, 2006 Session

Committee Reports and Amendments

last updated 4/7/06 2:00 PM

Senate Education Committee Report

From Senate Calendar 10 , pp 5-6

SB 268, raising the age of required attendance of children in school.
Ought to pass with amendment, Vote 3-2
Senator Green for the committee.

Senate Education
March 7, 2006
2006-1291s
04/05

Amendment to SB 268
Amend RSA 193:1, I(b) as inserted by section 1 of the bill by replacing it with the following:
     (b) The child is receiving home education and is therefore exempt from this requirement; [or]
Amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the following and renumbering the original sections 4-5 to read as 5-6, respectively:
  4 Home Education; Definitions. Amend RSA 193-A:1, I to read as follows:
    I. “Child” means a child or children at least 6 years of age and under [16] 18 years of age who is a resident of New Hampshire.

Senate Finance Committee Report

From Senate Calendar 11A , pp 3-4

SB 268, raising the age of required attendance of children in school.
Ought to pass with amendment, Vote 6-2
Senator Green for the committee.

Senate Finance
March 20, 2006
2006-1459s
04/05

Amendment to SB 268

Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:

AN ACT raising the age of required attendance of children in school and establishing a 2-year pilot program for increasing vocational education opportunities in the Manchester and Nashua school districts and making an appropriation therefor.

Amend the bill by replacing all after section 4 with the following:

  5 Vocational Education Programs; Manchester and Nashua School Districts; Pilot Program. There is hereby established a 2-year pilot program to be conducted in the Manchester and Nashua school districts to identify pupils in those school districts who are interested in vocational education programs and to establish procedures for increasing opportunities for such pupils to participate in vocational education programs. The commissioner of the department of education, or designee, shall work with the superintendents of the Manchester and Nashua school administrative units, the relevant school principals and teachers, and any other individuals who the commissioner and superintendents jointly determine are necessary for accomplishing the purpose of the pilot program.

  6 Appropriation. There is hereby appropriated the sum of $600,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007 and the sum of $600,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, to the department of education for the purposes of section 5 of this act. The governor shall draw a warrant for such sums out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

  7 Repeal. The following are repealed:
    I. RSA 193:1, IV, relative to withdrawal from school for children who are at least 16 years of age but under 18 years of age.
    II. Section 5 of this act, relative to the pilot project in the Manchester and Nashua school districts.

  8 Effective Date.

    I. Sections 5, 6, and 8 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2007.
    II. Paragraph II of section 7 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2009.
    III. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2008.
2006-1459s

AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill raises from 16 to 18 the age for compulsory school attendance and provides a procedure for a pupil who is at least 16 years of age to obtain an attendance waiver from school. The bill also establishes a 2-year pilot program in the Manchester and Nashua school districts to increase opportunities for interested pupils in those school districts to attend vocational education programs and making an appropriation therefor.

Senate Amendment 1498s, introduced by Senator Boyce on the Senate floor

From Senate Journal 9 , pp 215-216

Sen. Boyce, Dist. 4
March 22, 2006
2006-1498s
04/10

Floor Amendment to SB 268

Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:

AN ACT establishing a 2-year pilot program for increasing vocational education opportunities in the Manchester and Nashua school districts and making an appropriation therefor.

Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:

  1 Vocational Education Programs; Manchester and Nashua School Districts; Pilot Program. There is hereby established a 2-year pilot program to be conducted in the Manchester and Nashua school districts to identify pupils in those school districts who are interested in vocational education programs and to establish procedures for increasing opportunities for such pupils to participate in vocational education programs. The commissioner of the department of education, or designee, shall work with the superintendents of the Manchester and Nashua school administrative units, the relevant school principals and teachers, and any other individuals who the commissioner and superintendents jointly determine are necessary for accomplishing the purpose of the pilot program.

  2 Appropriation. There is hereby appropriated the sum of $600,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007 and the sum of $600,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, to the department of education for the purposes of section 1 of this act. The governor shall draw a warrant for such sums out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

  3 Repeal. Section 1 of this act, relative to the pilot project in the Manchester and Nashua school districts is repealed.

  4 Effective Date.
    I. Section 3 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2009.
    II. The remainder of this act shall take effect January 1, 2007.
2006-1498s
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a 2-year pilot program in the Manchester and Nashua school districts to increase opportunities for interested pupils in those school districts to attend vocational education programs and makes an appropriation therefor.

House Education Committee Majority and Minority Reports

HouseCalendar No 30, April 7, p. 1731

SB 268, raising the age of required attendance of children in school and establishing a 2-year pilot program for increasing vocational education opportunities in the Manchester and Nashua school districts and making an appropriation therefor.
MAJORITY: OUGHT TO PASS. MINORITY: REFER FOR INTERIM STUDY.

Rep. Emma L. Rous for the Majority of Education: This bill raises the age of required school attendance to 18 and creates alternative pathways to graduation, including independent study, internship, community service, work-study, or GED prep. In addition to ongoing programs, which are already lowering the dropout rate, the bill appropriates $600,000 for pilot programs in Nashua and Manchester, expanding them to multiple other communities. The bill exempts home-schoolers. This bill is in the best interest of our students; it raises expectations and sends an important message that education is crucial to future success. Higher completion rates lower social costs, because students who drop out earn less money and are more likely to end up on Medicaid or in prison. The bill was supported by the BIA, NH Retail Merchants, the Auto Dealers Association, law enforcement, NEA/AFT, and various school administrators and school boards. Vote 11-10.

Rep. Michael B. Asselin for the Minority of Education: The committee minority believes this bill, as proposed, is a flawed bill. The proponents of the bill stated that by raising the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18 it will increase expectations of students and fewer students will drop out. Currently a student can drop out at age 16 only if the parents agree (and there also has to be a meeting with the school principal). This bill takes away the parental rights and replaces the parents with the school superintendent. The minority believes the parental rights in making this decision about their children should be protected. The committee minority also presented evidence from the 2002 Cornell University Policy Analysis on the Effectiveness of Raising the Compulsory School Attendance (CSA) Age to Eighteen on Increasing High School Graduation Rates in New York State. The study concluded." The completion rates and dropout rates of CSA-18 States do not conclusively suggest that raising the CSA to 18 would be effective in lowering dropout rates and increasing completion rates. Although some CSA-18 States have impressive completion rates, others do not. However, the benefits of raising the CSA to 18 could outweigh the costs if the State included additional funding for supplemental programs. Without such additional measures, it is risky to assume that a change in legislation will result in the desired effects." An additional evaluation of the New York legislation concluded "This policy (increasing the CSA age to 18) has been shown to be completely unsuccessful in increasing completion rates and only slightly successful in decreasing dropout rates." This bill makes the same flaw as the New York legislation. It increases the CSA age to 18 without providing statewide additional funding for supplemental programs to address dropout prevention and recovery. Proponents say the money will be added in separate legislation, if this bill passes. The committee minority offered to interim study this bill and develop a bi-partisan bill to fund the needed programs statewide. The committee majority refused, preferring to identify costs later after passing this bill. The committee minority believes this is not how State mandates should be passed (without knowing the costs). Experience in other states, which have increased the CSA age to 18 without additional statewide funding, shows us that significant problems will be created. In California, a number of school districts had to build new schools for the students who were not allowed to leave and were disruptive to the students who wanted to learn. In Texas, the truancy rates significantly increased and additional costs were incurred to form Absentee Review Boards and to prosecute parents who were allowing their kids to drop out of school. Who will pay these potential costs in New Hampshire?