The state`s graduation rate has risen to 82 percent, but that still means nearly 1 in 5 students don`t graduate. The state Senate bill aims to improve graduation rates by keeping students in school until age 17. Georgia is one of nine states that allow 16-year-olds to drop out of secondary school. Thirty-five states set the school drop-out age at 17 or 18. “As I deal with this and think about nine when my daughter turns 17, I want her to be in class with a number of students who are forced to be there with handcuffs and a gun,” Dolezal said. “That`s basically what we`re doing; We tell those who want to be somewhere else that we will force them with absenteeists and otherwise sit in class with students who want to be there. And I hope my daughter isn`t the one who doesn`t want to be there, but you never know. Senator Matt Brass, R-Newnan, replied, “That`s exactly what we`re doing with kids. You take them to the trough, and they will end up drinking.

Our law says they are children until the age of 18, so one argument I have is that 17 may not be enough. Georgia is one of 15 states, along with neighboring Florida and North Carolina, that have set the minimum age for early school leavers at 16, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. While 10 have set 17 others as the age at which a student can leave school without a degree, 24 states have set it at 18 and Texas at 19. Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming, asked for statistical evidence that a higher minimum age for early school leavers would lead to more high school graduates. Raising the early school-leaving age in Georgia is not a new concept. Some supporters have been pushing for this since 2011. ATLANTA – Georgian lawmakers are considering raising the minimum age for early school leavers from 16 to 17. Jackson tried to raise the early school-leaving age to 18 two years ago. Second, estimates showed that raising the early school-leaving age to 18 would cost the state more than $20 million in additional support to local school districts.

Jackson is trying again this year, despite tight budgets that make new spending unattractive. Legislative staff are seeking an estimate of the costs of Jackson`s plan, but they said Wednesday they expect it to cost more than $10 million, according to committee chair P.K. Martin, R-Lawrenceville, said he had previously been concerned about the extra costs in classrooms, teachers and resources if students were forced to stay in high school for another year. Jackson estimated the annual cost to schools of lowering the legal dropout age to 17 to about $10 million. But Branson is a rarity. Young adults without a university degree are almost four times more likely to live in poverty than those with one. The unemployment rate for Americans with only a high school diploma is twice that of bachelor`s degree holders. And a high school dropout in America earns an average annual income of $20,241, compared to the nearly $31,000 a high school graduate brings home. Without parental permission, students are not allowed to drop out of school until they are 18 or legally emancipated. However, a bill could amend these laws in 2022 and make school compulsory for students under 17. The committee released a final report on how to combat Georgia`s dropout rate, which lawmakers hope will reduce Georgia`s prison population, based on Justice Department data showing that the majority of inmates do not have a high school diploma. “I think about myself when I was 16 and what I would have done if I had had the choice to go to school or stay at home.

I could have stayed at home if my mother hadn`t killed me,” he said. The legislation, SB3, sponsored by Senator Lester Jackson (D-Savannah), states that attendance at a public school, private school, or homeschooling program is compulsory and compulsory for children between their sixth and seventeenth birthdays. Its most recent attempt, SB3, launched in early 2021, was referred to the Senate Education and Youth Committee, chaired by Payne. Payne, in turn, suggested that the study committee investigate the problem. The change in age requirement worries Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), who says he wants to offer more support to students most likely to drop out of school. “I supported similar bills for years and, for some reason, the school district and the legislature didn`t pass them. I wanted it to go to 18, and some of my colleagues did, but they say cost it too much,” Sen said.