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NEWS BRIEFS
W.Va. plan for dropouts: Raise the age
CHARLESTON — Lowering West Virginia’s high school dropout rate could be as simple as raising the age requiring students to be in class.
That’s the plan of a bill headed to the Senate floor after some sharp debate Tuesday. A group of lawmakers say raising the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 17 will cut the dropout rate by 25 percent.
West Virginia’s dropout rate is around 17 percent.
But unions representing teachers, along with other lawmakers, say the plan is little more than a quick fix for a much deeper problem.
They say that without additional funding for alternative education programs, raising the age will just keep disruptive students in school a year longer.
