How Old Do You Have to Be to Legally Drop Out of School

If you`re the parent of a high school student thinking about dropping out, it can be hard to talk them out. They may hate school and see dropping out of school as a ticket to freedom and an opportunity to earn a paycheck now rather than later. The January 2011 recommendations of the NCSL Task Force on Early School Leaving Prevention and Recovery refer to the compulsory school age. In the report, the working group recommends that states « conduct policy audits, eliminate counterproductive policies and encourage cooperation. » The report deals with the age of compulsory schooling as follows: But what about pupils who drop out – or begin to break – the school age before reaching the minimum age? For your teen, school may seem boring and unnecessary. The idea of ending it and making your own way in the world may seem tempting. States have studied their school age limits as a strategy to prevent early school leaving, coupled with policies that impose attendance requirements and require students to be informed of the economic consequences and opportunities to drop out of the baccalaureate. In addition to raising the age of compulsory education, many States have taken other measures to discourage students from dropping out of school. For example, 29 states link driver`s licenses to school attendance and performance. Of course, students miss school without permission for a variety of reasons. But as absence becomes more chronic, most states refer to the student as « absenteeist » when they reach a certain point. In Connecticut, for example, an absentee is a student who has four unjustified absences in a month or 10 in a school year; In Illinois, when a student has unjustified absences for 10% of the 180 consecutive days, they jump. When a student is labeled as truancy, many states at least have the leeway to lay criminal charges against parents.

According to the Urban Institute, 24 states plus the District of Columbia allow punitive measures in juvenile or family courts against absentee parents. If the following 5 conditions are met, your child may be able to drop out of school before the age of 17: In Maine, your child must attend school between the ages of 7 and 17. If the principal or school board refuses your request to allow your child to leave public school and enroll in another work or study program, you have the right to contact the commissioner of the Maine Department of Education. Since August 2013, 16 states and the Virgin Islands have set the age of compulsory education at 16; 11 States for 17 years; and 23 states and the District of Columbia, American Samoa and Puerto Rico at age 18. « There is evidence that raising the maximum age of compulsory education above 16 reduces drop-out rates and leads to other positive outcomes. Until recently, most states allowed students to drop out of high school at age 16; Today, 32 states have set the age of compulsory education at 17 or 18. States can make maximum compulsory education more meaningful by revoking work permits and driving privileges for students who drop out before the minimum school age set by the government. States may also require that students who drop out of school before graduation receive information not only about the economic consequences of dropping out of school, but also about how to complete their baccalaureate afterwards. « The trend in the United States in recent years has been to expand compulsory schooling to reduce dropout rates. According to the latest figures from the National Center for Education Statistics, the majority of states now require students to be 17 or 18 years old before they can drop out of college. Since 2000, the number of countries setting the 16-year limit has been reduced from 29 to 15.

Although each state has a set minimum age for students to drop out of school, there are many asterisks to allow earlier dropouts. Some states allow school districts to adapt to local needs, sometimes they allow special regulations in rural areas. According to the State Board of Education, school districts also provide exemptions for students who must work, who have physical or mental conditions that make attendance difficult, who have parental permission, etc. These efforts to keep children in school seem to have had an effect. Studies have shown that over the past 18 years, dropout rates in the United States have dropped by nearly two-thirds. In 2000, about 1.6 million young people aged 16-19 were not in school or had no school-leaving certificate. Today, there are about 669,000. While statistics show that dropping out of school is usually a bad idea, the motivation to drop out of school can be overwhelming. However, if students want to do so, state laws are a barrier until they reach a certain age — 16, 17 or 18, depending on the state. It may be wise to sit down and talk to them about the likely impact of this decision, and also talk to school counselors and staff about how your child`s opinion could be changed by a better school experience. And remember that dropping out of school doesn`t necessarily mean the end of your child`s educational career. You can always decide to go ahead and get a GED and even a college degree.

If your child is under the age of 17 but has completed Grade 6, they will skip if the following is missing: 16 until July 1, 2015| July 17 to 1, 2017| 18 after that.