Legislative Issues
State and federal legislation past and present that could affect homeschoolers in Massachusetts.
Legislative Update - March 2012
AHEM continues to monitor bills filed during the current 187th Massachusetts Legislative session (2011-2012) that have the potential to impact homeschoolers in our state.
S 2173, Joint Committee on Education; AN ACT RELATIVE TO DROPOUT PREVENTION AND RECOVERY raises the mandatory age for school attendance from 16 to 18. On March 12, 2012, the bill was reported favorably out of the Education committee and is now with the Ways and Means Committee for a cost analysis. AHEM opposes.
S 1743, Rep. John A. Hart, Democrat, Boston; AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE DENIAL OF DRIVER’S LICENSES FOR TRUANTS This bill amends MGL Ch. 90 by adding a section requiring that an application for a driver’s license or learner’s permit be signed by a parent or guardian and be accompanied by certification from the school district that the applicant is enrolled in high school or, among other possibilities, “a home education program that satisfies the requirements of all state laws governing such courses...” This bill would seem to require homeschoolers to present an approval letter or other certification from the school district that they are engaged in an approved homeschooling plan prior to obtaining a driver’s license. The bill was referred to the Joint committee on Transportation on 1/24/11. AHEM has filed an opposition letter which will be included in the hearing testimony.
H 1909, Rep. Antonio Cabral, Democrat, New Bedford; Rep. Stephen R. Canessa, Democrat, New Bedford; Rep. Kay Khan, Democrat, Newton; AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN This bill would amend MGL Ch. 69 Sec. 1B by directing the Board of Education to “establish the permissible and mandatory ages for school attendance provided that each child be required to attend a full-day educational program at kindergarten age.”
This bill would effectively lower the required school attendance age by making kindergarten mandatory. Homeschoolers in MA would presumably need to begin filing education plans for their “kindergarten aged” children. This bill was referred to the Joint committee on Education on 2/25/11. A hearing was held on May 23, 2011. It appears that this bill has been reported out of committee.
H 3846, Reps. Carlos Henriquez, D. Dorchester, Edward F. Coppinger, D. Boston; AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE COMPULSORY AGE OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
This bill seeks to increase the compulsory age of school attendance in the city of Boston by amending Section 1B, Ch. 69, “or section 1 of chapter 76, of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary regulating the compulsory age of school attendance, the compulsory maximum age for school attendance in Boston public and private schools shall be eighteen (18). Children under the age of 18, attending a Boston public or private school, shall remain enrolled until such time as they turn 18, or upon successful completion of all coursework required to graduate.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2012 and shall concern all students enrolled in Boston public and private schools for the 2012-13 school year and onward.”
The city of Boston has already provided local approval. The bill was referred to the Joint Education Committee on 12/15/11. It appears that this bill has been reported out of committee.
H 1081, Rep. Martha M. Walz, Democrat, Boston; AN ACT RELATIVE TO DETERMINING THE MANDATORY MINIMUM AGE FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE This bill appears to go hand in hand with H 1909. It also amends MGL Ch. 69 Sec. 1B by further directing the Board of Education to “promulgate regulations setting a uniform calendar date each year for the purpose of determining the mandatory minimum age for school attendance...” The bill was referred to the Joint committee on Education on 2/16/11. A hearing was held on May 23, 2011. No further action has been taken.
H 1964, Rep. Martha M. Walz, Democrat, Boston, and others; AN ACT RELATIVE TO DROPOUT PREVENTION H 1964 also amends MGL Ch. 69 Sec. 1B by changing the mandatory high school attendance age from 16 to 18. It further amends MGL Ch. 76 with the “age 18” requirement and directs the school Superintendent to notify the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) if a person between the ages of 16 and 18 withdraws from school. The RMV may then revoke that person’s driver’s license, except in certain extenuating circumstances. This bill was referred to the Joint committee on Education on 2/25/11. On September 27, 2011 the Joint committee held a hearing on the bill but no further action has yet been reported.
H 3674, Rep. Marcus A. Devers, Democrat, Lawrence; AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE MAXIMUM AGE FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IN THE CITY OF LAWRENCE This bill would allow the City of Lawrence, MA to establish its own maximum age for school attendance, “which shall be 18 years of age, or upon the completion of a high school diploma,” notwithstanding the mandatory maximum age otherwise established by the state board of education. This bill was referred to the Joint committee on Education on 9/1/11. No further action has been taken.
In November, it was reported that “A state board that oversees public education has approved a state takeover of the troubled Lawrence school system, citing chronic declines in student performance, a low graduation rate and ‘ineffective leadership.’’’ [http://articles.boston.com/2011-11-29/news/30455384_1_graduation-rate-state-takeover-board-meeting]
AHEM is in contact with the Education committee and the Ways and Means committee to sort out where these various bills now stand, and will report on ways you can respond if you have concerns about their passage.
Legislative Update - September 2011
The 187th Massachusetts legislative session (2011-2012) is now underway and our legislators are in the process of filing new bills. AHEM is monitoring all new bills filed that have the potential to affect homeschoolers in our state. The following education bills were filed within the first few months of the new session:
A hearing took place on September 27, 2011 at 10 AM in Gardner Auditorium for H 142, H 1906 and H 1964:
H 142, Rep. Antonio Cabral, Democrat, New Bedford; AN ACT TO PREVENT DROPOUTS H 142 amends MGL CH. 76 Sec. 1 by changing the mandatory high school attendance age from 16 to 18. This bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Education on 1/24/11.
H 1906, Garrett J. Bradley, Democrat, Hingham; AN ACT RAISING THE COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE AGE TO 18
H 1906 amends MGL CH. 69 Sec. by changing the mandatory high school attendance age from 16 to 18. This bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Education on 1/24/11.
H 1964, Rep. Martha M. Walz, Democrat, Boston, and others; AN ACT RELATIVE TO DROPOUT PREVENTION
H 1964 amends MGL Ch. 69 Sec. 1B by changing the mandatory high school attendance age from 16 to 18. It further amends MGL Ch. 76 with the "age 18" requirement and directs the school superintendent to notify the Registry of Motor Vehicles ("RMV") if a person between the ages of 16 and 18 withdraws from school. The RMV may then revoke that person's driver's license, except in certain extenuating circumstances. This bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Education on 2/25/11.
If the age of attendance were raised, homeschoolers would be required 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. We are not sure what would happen to the current ability of homeschoolers ages 16-17 to take the GED.
Raising the compulsory attendance age would be ineffective in reducing the dropout rate, and would result in increased spending for school departments. The report, "Making the Connection," (October 2009), from the Graduation and Dropout Prevention and Recovery Commission, while purporting to recommend "evidence-based strategies" to reduce the dropout rate, went on to recommend raising the compulsory attendance age to 18, despite the report's own assertion that "The simple act of increasing the compulsory age… will only retain a handful of students." Indeed, data aggregated from a three year period to calculate high school completion rates on a state-by-state basis (Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000, p. 22; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Doc. No. NCES 2002-114) merged with information about the age of compulsory attendance in each state shows that states requiring compulsory attendance until age sixteen have a higher average rate of school completion than those states requiring compulsory attendance until age seventeen or eighteen. (See http://www.ahem.info/HighSchoolCompletionRatesbyState.pdf.)
What You Can Do
AHEM recommends that anyone who has concerns about H 142, H 1906 and H 1964 should write to members of the Education committee. You can find contact information at http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J14.
We believe your letter will be most effective if written from the position of a concerned taxpayer, rather than a homeschooler who wants to avoid more paperwork. In your letter, you may point out that the financial ramifications that would result from extending the compulsory attendance age would include increased costs in teachers' salaries, classrooms, and transportation. If raising the compulsory attendance age were likely to achieve the desired results, the cost/benefit analysis might justify these higher costs. However, since statistics show that raising the compulsory attendance age would not result in a higher rate of high school completion, the financial burden to taxpayers and already fiscally strapped school departments cannot be justified.
Other Bills
H 3674, Rep. Marcus A. Devers, Democrat, Lawrence; AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE MAXIMUM AGE FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IN THE CITY OF LAWRENCE
This bill would allow the City of Lawrence, MA to establish its own maximum age for school attendance, "which shall be 18 years of age, or upon the completion of a high school diploma," notwithstanding the mandatory maximum age otherwise established by the state board of education. This bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Education on 9/1/11.
H 3582, Rep. Alice Hanlon Peisch, Democrat, Wellesley; AN ACT RELATIVE TO NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT ACCESS TO THE MCAS EXAM
H 3582 requires the DOE to "issue a report on the feasibility and costs associated with non-public school students and home schooled students in grade 10 voluntarily taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam." The report is due by 12/31/11. While it is unfortunate that the term "home schooled" was added to the original wording of this bill (see H 1933), this bill only orders a feasibility report, so it doesn't enter the term "home schooled" into the General Laws. This bill was reported favorably by the Education committee and referred to the House committee on Ways and Means on 7/13/2011.
H 1909, Rep. Antonio Cabral, Democrat, New Bedford; Rep. Stephen R. Canessa, Democrat, New Bedford; Rep. Kay Khan, Democrat, Newton; AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN
This bill would amend MGL Ch. 69 Sec. 1B by directing the Board of Education to "establish the permissible and mandatory ages for school attendance provided that each child be required to attend a full-day educational program at kindergarten age."
This bill would effectively lower the required school attendance age by making kindergarten mandatory. Homeschoolers in MA would presumably need to begin filing education plans for their "kindergarten aged" children. This bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Education on 2/25/11. A hearing was held on May 23, 2011. No further action has been taken.
H 1081, Rep. Martha M. Walz, Democrat, Boston; AN ACT RELATIVE TO DETERMINING THE MANDATORY MINIMUM AGE FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
This bill appears to go hand in hand with H 1909. It also amends MGL Ch. 69 Sec. 1B by further directing the Board of Education to "promulgate regulations setting a uniform calendar date each year for the purpose of determining the mandatory minimum age for school attendance…" The bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Education on 2/16/11. A hearing was held on May 23, 2011. No further action has been taken.
S 1743, Rep. John A. Hart, Democrat, Boston; AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE DENIAL OF DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR TRUANTS
This bill amends MGL Ch. 90 by adding a section requiring that an application for a driver's license or learner's permit be signed by a parent or guardian and be accompanied by certification from the school district that the applicant is enrolled in high school or - among other possibilities - "a home education program that satisfies the requirements of all state laws governing such courses…" This bill would seem to require homeschoolers to present an approval letter or other certification from the school district that they are engaged in an approved homeschooling plan prior to obtaining a driver's license. The bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Transportation on 1/24/11. No further action has been taken.
AHEM will continue to follow these bills, as well as numerous others that are likely to be filed during this legislative session, and keep our Friends informed about additional proposed legislation that could affect MA homeschoolers.
June 2011 - Lawrence City Council Moves to Raise Dropout Age from 16 to 18
This article is a good summary: http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1110911828/Council-moves-towards-raising-dropout-age
The Boston City Council is seeking to do the same thing:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/05/26/councilors_push_bill_to_reduce_dropouts/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Massachusetts+newsMass.gov's Legislative Glossary defines "Home Rule Petition" as "Legislation filed to address the needs of a particular municipality or at the request of, and with the approval of, that municipality and which does not affect generally the laws of Massachusetts."1
What Does This Mean for Homeschoolers?
If the age of attendance were raised in Lawrence and Boston, presumably homeschoolers in those cities would be required to continue to report to their local school districts until the age of 18. We are not sure what would happen to the current ability of Lawrence and Boston homeschoolers ages 16-17 to take the GED.
The Argument Against Raising the Compulsory Attendance Age
Raising the age of attendance would be ineffective in reducing the dropout rate, and would result in increased spending for school departments. Data aggregated from a three year period to calculate high school completion rates on a state-by-state basis (Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000, p. 22; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Doc. No. NCES 2002-114) merged with information about the age of compulsory attendance in each state shows that states requiring compulsory attendance until age sixteen have a higher average rate of school completion than those states requiring compulsory attendance until age seventeen or eighteen.2
Additionally, raising the age to 18 could remove alternatives, such as early graduation, from motivated students for whom traditional public school is not working.
There is no evidence that raising the age for compulsory attendance will have the effect of reducing the dropout rate, currently 2.9% statewide.3 In the Institute of Education Sciences Dropout Prevention Practice Guide, several evidence-based targeted and school wide recommendations for preventing dropouts are discussed. Among the most effective are assigning adult advocates to students at risk of dropping out; providing academic support and enrichment to improve academic performance; personalizing the learning environment and instructional process; and providing rigorous and relevant instruction to better engage students in learning and provide the skills needed to graduate and to serve them after they leave school. It is noted that "Educators and policymakers need to consider how to implement intermediate strategies aimed at increasing student engagement" in the elementary and middle school years, to lessen the need for intensive individual support needed for high school students at risk of dropping out who have been set on that trajectory since before entering high school.4 These kinds of ideas have more chance of success at reducing the dropout rate and would be a wiser use of limited funds than raising the compulsory attendance age, for which there is no evidence of preventing dropouts.
A recent Letter to the Editor in The Boston Globe by Lisa Guisbond of FairTest5 points out that a reason New Hampshire has an oft-cited lower dropout rate is lack of a graduation test; research has shown graduation tests depress graduation rates. Also, Jill Norton, executive director, Rennie Center for Education Research And Policy, has valuable insight on this recent edition of Radio Boston:http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/06/27/drop-out-age
1 http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/legal-and-legislative-resources/ma-lawmaking-proc/ma-legislative-glossary.html
2 http://www.ahem.info/HighSchoolCompletionRatesbyState.pdf
3 http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/reports/dropout/0910/
4 Dynarski, M., Clarke, L., Cobb, B., Finn, J., Rumberger, R., and Smink, J. (2008). Dropout Prevention: A Practice Guide (NCEE 2008-4025). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc.
5 http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2011/05/29/high_stakes_tests_drag_graduation_rates_down/