HB 1044 -- see HB 4738
HB 1044: “An Act Relative to Increasing the Mandatory School Age.”
This bill says:

“SECTION 1. Section 1B of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the 20th paragraph, lines 99-102 inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following:— The board shall establish the permissible and mandatory ages for school attendance; provided, that such mandatory maximum age shall be the age of 18, or until graduation from high school or attainment of the equivalent thereof, whichever occurs first.

SECTION 2. Chapter 741 of the Acts of 1965 is hereby repealed.”

See sponsors and text of the bill here: http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/ht01/ht01044.htm

HB 1044 would require school attendance until the age of 18. This bill, if passed, would require homeschoolers to continue to report to their local school districts until such time as the homeschoolers reach “graduation” or the age of 18, whichever comes first.

For a discussion of a similar bill that was introduced last year and died, see http://www.ahem.info/HD4666.htm. HD 4666 stated explicitly that raising the age of attendance was meant to reduce the dropout rate. HB 1044 does not reveal any intention beyond raising the age, although another bill, HB 1045, introduced by the same Representative, Marie St. Fleur (Democrat – Fifth Suffolk) is entitled, “An Act Relative to the Development of a Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent Students from Dropping Out of School.” Both of these bills include members of the Education committee as sponsors (Robert Antonioni, Douglas Petersen, and Karen Spilka).

The public hearing for this bill took place on September 22, 2005. AHEM encourages anyone who would like their opinion of HB 1044 to be considered to contact the members of the Joint committee on Education in writing, including email, and ask that your comments and concerns be added to the official record of the public hearing. In your letter, express whether you support or oppose the bill, explain why, and say that you request that your letter be included in the official testimony. If opposed, we believe your letter will be more effective if written from the position of a concerned taxpayer, rather than a homeschooler who wants to avoid more paperwork. Address your letter to:

Joint committee on Education
Room 473G
State House
Boston, MA 02133

The chairpersons of this committee are Senator Robert Antonioni (Democrat- Worcester and Middlesex) and Representative Patricia Haddad (Democrat -Fifth Bristol).

Contact information for the members of the Joint committee on Education can be found at http://www.mass.gov/legis/comm/j14.htm.

The information on this website does not constitute legal advice; it is provided for informational purposes only.