Indiana Attempts to Prevent Dropouts

The Indianapolis Star is reporting on a bill moving out of the statehouse to the governor's desk for approval. The bill (H.B. 1347) would put more requirements on schools to track and prevent dropouts, including reporting:



        (19) The number of students who have dropped out of school,
including the reasons for dropping out.

        (20) The number of student work permits revoked.

        (21) The number of student driver's licenses revoked.

        (22) The number of students who have not advanced to grade
10 due to a lack of completed credits.

        (23) The number of students suspended for any reason.

        (24) The number of students receiving an international
baccalaureate diploma.



Also, students would not be allowed to dropout between 16 and 18 if:



       (3) the withdrawal is due to:

            (A) financial hardship and the individual must be
employed to support the individual's family or a dependent;

            (B) illness; or

            (C) an order by a court that has jurisdiction over the
student.

     (c) A written acknowledgment of withdrawal under subsection
(b) must include a statement that the student and the student's
parent understand that withdrawing from school is likely to:

        (1) reduce the student's future earnings; and

        (2) increase the student's likelihood of being unemployed in
the future.



Not sure what all this would mean yet from the law standpoint.
Obviously, schools are going to have to tighten up their dropout
prevention and tracking and make sure they follow the letter of the law
in the dropout interviews. Just in the back of the Edjurist's mind,
there seems to be a concern about these dropout interviews coming back
to haunt the school. If the school messes up any of these procedural
issues in the dropout interview, could a student sue the school? Could
damages be future earnings? Probably, everything would be covered in
negligence immunity, but still...a little concerning.



 Also contained in the bill is some interesting ideas on high
school graduation credits while at college, including specific
provisions for Ivy Tech. Finally, there seems to be a requirement that
schools add at least two AP and Dual Credit courses to students who
qualify. This would be rough on rural school corporations. As always,
stay tuned.