Dropout Bill Advances

The state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would allow individual school districts to raise their dropout age to 18 – a concept local superintendents say has merit, although they say all factors, such as funding needs, need to be taken into account. Two versions of dropout-age legislation are under consideration by the General Assembly. Senate Bill 109 does not go as far as House Bill 216, which was passed in January and would raise the dropout age to 18 across the state. Currently, students in Kentucky can drop out of school at age 16 with a parent’s permission.