Connecticut
Increase in Compulsory Attendance Age
With the Connecticut General Assembly’s enactment of House Bill 5276 in May, children are now subject to the compulsory school attendance requirements for up to two additional years—until age 18 or graduation from high school. Prior law required children to attend school through age 16. But there is a silver lining to this dark cloud: A parent of a 16 or 17 year old may consent to a child’s withdrawal from school by personally signing a form at the school district office.
Overall, Home School Legal Defense Association believes that this new law is a step in the wrong direction—towards more state control over education. It can be reasonably anticipated that the next change in the law may be to eliminate the parents’ right to withdraw a child from public school before age 18. — Dewitt T. Black
