STAR/TRIBUNE
A bipartisan bill moving through the Legislature would deliver what backers say is tough love to keep kids in school by barring young high school dropouts from getting driver's licenses.
"Driving is not a right, it's a privilege, and it's perfectly within bounds for the state government to expect a quid pro quo when it comes to extending privileges," said bill sponsor Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul. Although the state only requires students to stay in school until they are 16, it can look for leverage to keep them in school longer, he said.
If the measure were to become law, Minnesota would join at least 20 other states, including Wisconsin and Illinois, that tie driving privileges to school attendance.
It could mean thousands fewer teens getting licensed. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, more than 4,000 Minnesota high school students dropped out in 2009, a dropout rate of 5.6 percent, based on the state's four-year graduation rates.
Recent high school graduate Alex Greenhalgh said the proposed law could be effective. Getting licensed is "a big deal," said the Minneapolis teen preparing to get his license. He said he didn't like the proposal.
"If students drop out, they should still have the opportunity to drive," Greenhalgh said.
Vanessa Fedde said she needed her driver's license.
Fedde, now 25, dropped out of high school at 17 to care for her ailing mother. She said her mother had severe post-traumatic stress disorder and needed her daughter to work, shop and drive her around.
Fedde said the law could work for some but that it should have a "fail-safe" for kids who have family responsibilities.
"There's just so many gray areas," Fedde said.
Had the law been in effect when she was a young dropout, she said she would have probably just driven anyway.
"I needed it. I had to have it," she said of her license.
Bill cosponsor Gen Olson, R-Minnetrista, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, said she typically opposes compulsory attendance laws.
"If they don't want to be [in school], they're going to be more disruptive," Olson said. But the driver's license linkage could provide would-be dropouts another reason to stay in school.
Despite its bipartisan support, it's unclear what chance the proposal has of becoming law this year, with legislators more focused on the state's $5 billion budget deficit than school attendance issues.
Former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty supported similar initiatives in 2003 and 2004. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has not reviewed the proposal, his office said, and had no advance opinion on it.
Support for the measure may end up splitting along geographic lines.
"In greater Minnesota, if you're not driving, you're not getting around," Mariani said. "For the sake of their local economies, they might argue that this is a little bit too coercive."
No hearing has yet been scheduled for the bill.
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In my opinion, the bill should not be passed because the drivers license has nothing to do with the school attendance and should remain seperate. Even though I think the dropout rate in high schools would decrease with this bill, I think that the students affected by this would interrupt the classes and they would not give their best. It is the decision of the students whether or not they want to drop out of school, especially in those cases in which students have to drop out due to family responsibilities. They should not be punished for that by not being able to get their drivers license.
ReplyDeleteI'm agreeing with Larissa. Why would the government even think about doing this? If a kid doesn't like school and decides to drop out, they shouldn't be punished for doing what they wanna do. Everyone who is a citizen and is legally able to get their license should be able to get it whether they completed school or not. Things should remain as they are. Keep school out of the picture when it comes to getting a drivers license. It's only fair and right.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the 2 above. Driving is not even in the same category as school. Some people need to drive because of family reasons and health or whatever. Staying in school is a very good thing to do, but if a kid doesn't want to be there, why try to keep them there? They'd usually just cause problems and not do their work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those 3people. I think school doesn't have to care about the car license. They should just controll the education parts for the student. This problem and staying at the school doesn't makes any relations. If they have to stay in the school because of the car, why they paid money for their car and the car license? They can't even use it freely. As a result I think this problem is not for school, so students don't have to stay in the school
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