W.Va. Gov. Manchin Reluctant About Raising Legal School Age to 17
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Posted: 8:51 PM Feb 19, 2010
W.Va. Gov. Manchin Reluctant About Raising Legal School Age to 17
Gov. Joe Manchin isn't sold on raising the age that students legally have to be in school from 16 years old to 17.
Reporter: Associated Press
Email Address: news@wsaz.com
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Gov. Joe Manchin isn't sold on raising the age that students legally have to be in school from 16 years old to 17.

Bills in both the state Senate and House of Delegates would increase the age as a way of reducing West Virginia's 17 percent high school dropout rate.

Manchin plans to make dropout rates the focus of his upcoming tenure as chairman of the National Governors Association.

He said Friday he thinks raising the age is a superficial fix if it's not combined with other resources and programs.

The House Education Committee appears to agree. It unanimously endorsed a bill Friday that attacks the dropout rate on several fronts, including raising the attendance age and cutting unexcused absences.

Latest Comments

Posted by: To Student of Kentucky Schools on Feb 22, 2010 at 01:23 PM

I totally believe you. It's quite obvious from your grammar and spelling that you didn't graduate.
Posted by: Sandy on Feb 21, 2010 at 11:08 PM

I understand the quick fix idea that if we can simply make students attend till 16, 17, 18, whatever age, that they will have learned the skills necessary to be productive citizens. The truth is that many factors contribute to a child choosing to leave school. Another truth is that passing the GED demonstrates that a student has mastered the high school curriculum. I know the importance of a quality education, but many of our high school students are not receiving a quality education eventhough they may be physically present everyday at school. Governor Manchin realizes that raising the drop out age will not ensure that students receive what our taxes pay for. Let's work together to ensure that no student willingly leaves school before graduation. Let's make students' realize how valuable they are and how beneficial an education is to their and our future.
Posted by: Huntington Momma on Feb 21, 2010 at 09:20 PM

To the anonymous person who said that the children are to blame for not being able to learn, did you teach yourself during your years in school? I don't think so. Several of my childrens teachers hand out papers and tell them to just do the best they can if they have further questions, because they either don't want to take the time to show them again or they don't know how to explain it a different way. And yes, they have been offered tutoring. The only problem was, the child who makes straight A's was the one they wanted to "tutor". Ironic, huh? While I am not saying that it is ok to drop out of school, and it is not an option for my own children, I can see how discouraged a child and it's parents can get. The problem lies within the school system, not in the children. They can have school all year round, but quantity never did equal quality.
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