An Act Relative to Dropout Prevention and Student Recovery
State Representative Juana Matias (16th Essex – Lawrence) testified alongside Pavel Payano, senior member of the Lawrence School Committee, before the Joint Committee on Education in support of H.3555. Representative Matias filed H.3555, which seeks to amend the statewide dropout age from 16 to 18 years old, in addition to creating a 3-year pilot program to provide additional support for students at risk of dropping out of high school.
As the bill’s lead sponsor, Representative Matias stressed the importance of this issue: “According to the most current data from the [Massachusetts] Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in the 2015-2016 school year, approximately 5,523 students across the Commonwealth dropped out of a Massachusetts high school.”
School Committeeman Payano is a longtime advocate of increasing the dropout age. He believes “we need to modernized an educational policy that dates back to a time when a 16 year old could dropout and earn a living wage working at a mill. The fact is that students that dropout are more likely to be incarcerated, depend on public assistance, become single parents and are less likely to be employed or be engaged in civic activities.”
At the hearing School Committeeman Payano offered remarks on the importance of keeping students in school and informed the Joint Committee of the effective programs the City of Lawrence currently has in place: “Increasing the dropout age means that more of our youth can contribute positively to our economy and society. In an age where there is no work to be found without a bachelor’s degree, we should be committed to ensuring that our 16 and 17 year olds remain in school. If Lawrence, a community with limited resources, can do it, then I’m sure that others can do it as well.”
According to the National State Conference of Legislatures Task Force on Dropout Prevention and Recovery, “the evidence suggests that raising the maximum age above 16 curtails dropout rates and produces positive results.”
Representative Matias urged the Joint Committee to take favorable action on the bill, so that the Commonwealth could join the 25 other states and DC in raising the maximum compulsory age to 18.
Representative Matias asserted that the bill relies on the strength of existing programs and would create additional support for the 64 communities with a dropout rate higher than the state average. The Representative specifically cited the dropout rate of the following school districts to demonstrate widespread reach of this issue: Attleboro (2.7%), Barnstable (2.3%), Boston (5.5%), Brockton (3.4%), Lawrence (4.2%), Revere (4.9%), Sharon (2.2%), Southbridge (6.8%), and Springfield (4.9%).
She further expressed support for the programs that would be utilized for the 3-year pilot program that H.3555 initiates: “Raising the age must, of course, be coupled with vibrant dropout prevention and student recovery programs, which do currently exist in the Commonwealth.”
H.3555’s provision to change the compulsory age to 18 years old would take effect on September 1, 2018.
