NEW JERSEY
Increase in Compulsory Attendance Age Proposed
A bill has been introduced in the New Jersey Legislature which would increase the compulsory attendance age from 16 years old to 18 years old unless the child has graduated from high school. Designated as Senate Bill 246, this legislative proposal was approved by the Senate Education Committee on January 12, 1995. If passed by the full Senate and General Assembly, the language of the bill provides that this change in the law would first apply to children who are in the eighth grade at the time of the bill's enactment. In other words, children who are in at least the ninth grade at the time the governor signs this legislation would not be subject to the new law. This bill is being sponsored by Senator Ronald L. Rice of Newark, a Democrat.
The obvious effect of such a law on home schoolers in New Jersey would be to subject them to all the requirements of the home school law for an additional two years beyond what is presently required. This primarily involves having to provide "an equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school" in accordance with section 18A:38-25 of New Jersey Statutes Annotated.
A significant aspect of raising the compulsory attendance age would be the need for additional tax revenues from New Jersey citizens to pay for the added cost of educating more children in the public school system. More classroom space would have to be constructed and more teachers hired in order to accommodate all the 17 and 18 year old students who will be compelled to attend school against their will under the proposed law, not to mention the additional expense of security personnel to deal with the inevitable increase in discipline problems. Home-schooling parents already pay more than their fair share toward public education through existing taxes and should oppose this legislation.
