House Bill 4132: Raising the Age of Compulsory Attendance to 18 Years

Author:
Representative LaMar Lemmons, Jr.

Summary:
House Bill 4132 raises the upper age limit of compulsory school attendance to 18 for children who turn 14 on or after December 1, 2007, and for children who entered 9th grade in 2008 or later.

Status:

2/4/2009		(House) Introduced and referred to Committee on Education
2/5/2009		(House) Printed bill filed
2/12/2009		(House) Education Committee Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
2/17/2009		(House) Reported with recommendation without amendments
2/17/2009		(House) Referred to second reading
3/4/2009		(House) Read a second time
3/4/2009		(House) Substitute H-2 adopted
3/4/2009		(House) Placed on third reading
3/4/2009		(House) Placed on immediate passage
3/4/2009		(House) Read a third time
3/4/2009		(House) Passed; given immediate effect, Roll call No. 16: Yeas 71, Nays 37
3/4/2009		(House) Title amended
3/4/2009		(Senate) Transmitted
3/5/2009		(Senate) Referred to Committee on Education

HSLDA’s Position:
HSLDA opposes this bill.

Action Requested:
Please call or email the members of the House Education Committee and in your own words, give them this message:

“Please vote against H.B. 4132, which raises the age of compulsory school attendance. It only serves as a waste of taxpayers’ money—in a time of economic crisis, it would also force unwilling, disruptive students into the classroom and take away the right of parents to decide whether their 16-year-old is ready for valuable work experience or college.”

You do not need to mention that you homeschool.

If your last name begins with A–E, please call (or email) the representatives numbered 1–5; if it begins with F–J, call 6–10; if K–O, call 11–15; if P–S, 16–20; if T–Z, 21–22.

House Education Committee:

1. Tim Melton (D-Pontiac), Chair
517-373-0475
timmelton@house.mi.gov

2. Lisa Brown (D-Bloomfield Hills), Vice Chair
517-373-1799
LisaBrown@house.mi.gov

3. Tim Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe)
517-373-0154
TimBledsoe@house.mi.gov

4. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga)
517-373-0587
barbbyrum@house.mi.gov

5. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville)
517-373-3816
marccorriveau@house.mi.gov

6. Doug Geiss (D-Taylor), Bill Sponsor
517-373-0852
DouglasGeiss@house.mi.gov

7. Jennifer Haase (D-Richmond)
517-373-8931
JenniferHaase@house.mi.gov

8. Deb Kennedy (D-Brownstown)
517-373-0855
DebKennedy@house.mi.gov

9. Steve Lindberg (D-Marquette)
517-373-0498
stevenlindberg@house.mi.gov

10. David Nathan (D-Detroit)
517-373-3815
DavidNathan@house.mi.gov

11. Gino Polidori (D-Dearborn)
517-373-0847
ginopolidori@house.mi.gov

12. Sarah Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores)
517-373-0113
SarahRoberts@house.mi.gov

13. Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch)
517-373-3817
joelsheltrown@house.mi.gov

14. Mary Valentine (D-Norton Shores)
517-373-3436
maryvalentine@house.mi.gov

15. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair Township), Minority Vice Chair
517-373-1790
phillippavlov@house.mi.gov

16. Richard Ball (R-Laingsburg)
517-373-0841
richardball@house.mi.gov

17. Larry DeShazor (R-Portage)
517-373-1774
LarryDeShazor@house.mi.gov

18. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills)
517-373-1773
TomMcMillin@house.mi.gov

19. Tom Pearce (R-Rockford)
517-373-0218
tompearce@house.mi.gov

20. Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc)
517-373-1780
PaulScott@house.mi.gov

21. Sharon Tyler (R-Niles)
517-373-1796
SharonTyler@house.mi.gov

22. John Walsh (R-Livonia)
517-373-3920
JohnWalsh@house.mi.gov

Background:
Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.)

Twenty-nine states only require school attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn.

It would restrict parents’ freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. (Some 16-year-olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom.

Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. When California raised the age of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer.

For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our issues library entry, Compulsory Attendance Age Legislation.

Other Resources

E-lert—February 11, 2009—Michigan: Calls Still Needed to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschoolers

E-lert—February 17, 2009—Michigan: Calls Still Needed to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschoolers

Bill Text