- The Dropout Deterrent Act, sponsored in the Georgia Senate by Sen. Vincent Fort, is designed to reduce the number of students who drop out of high school in the state. Currently, about 5,500 students drop out of school in Georgia each year. It is estimated that the decreased productivity of those who dropout costs the state around $1.8 billion each year.
- The Dropout Deterrent Act would achieve its goals by moving back the mandatory school attendance age in Georgia. Currently, students are only required to attend school until the age of 16. Under the Dropout Deterrent Act, students would be required to stay in school until 17. Students who enroll in community college or a technical school would be exempt from the new requirement.
- The act enjoyed bipartisan support in the Georgia Senate. It also enjoyed support from a number of influential and powerful lobbying groups, including the Georgia Association of Educators, which had been lobbying to increase the mandatory school attendance age for several years. Although the bill was opposed by some smaller interests, such as homeschooling families (who worried that it would impact their ability to graduate their children when they were deemed ready), there was no significant lobbying group opposing the legislation.
- The Dropout Deterrent Act has not yet been enacted into law. In 2009, the Georgia Senate referred the bill to the Senate Education and Youth Committee. The bill passed the committee in February 2010, and was sent back to the full Senate for a second reading. No further action has been taken on the bill, however. Unless the Senate, and then the House, takes further action on the bill, it will not become law.
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