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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. James Roebuck |
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Education Committee approves Roebuck dropout-prevention bills
HARRISBURG, June 10 – The state House Education Committee this week approved two bills introduced by state Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., aimed at preventing high school dropouts.
"Although Pennsylvania has made improvements to ensure a higher quality education to all students, we must still do a better job of helping every student graduate high school with the requisite skills for success," Roebuck said. "That effort must begin by improving our data-collection system to determine exactly where, why and how many students are dropping out. It is only with those details that we can effectively focus dropout-prevention efforts where they're needed most."
The committee approved H.B. 1618, which would require the Pennsylvania Department of Education to implement a high-quality, detailed data-collection and reporting system for dropout and graduation rates in all public school districts. Roebuck said the intent of this bill is to obtain more accurate information on all students when calculating graduation and dropout rates.
The committee also approved H.B. 1602, which would require exit interviews for all students who drop out of public schools in Pennsylvania. Roebuck's bill would require all principals, including those in charter schools, to conduct exit interviews with students who drop out or are illegally absent from school for 10 or more days. During the interview, the principal or school designee would be required to ask about why the student is withdrawing and inform him or her about alternatives to dropping out. If the interview cannot be completed by the student in person or via telephone, the parent or guardian would have to do so within 15 days of notification.
Students would not be required to complete an exit interview if they are transferring to a charter, cyber, home, non-public or private school. The interview form would be created by the Education Department and distributed to the state's 501 school districts. Schools would report the data -- not including student names, addresses and identification numbers -- to the department in conjunction with the Electronic Dropout/Graduation Report each year. The data would be made public at the end of each fiscal year.
Currently, the state's school districts are required to notify the Pennsylvania Department of Education when a student drops out or transfers to another school. However, the information does not have to include an explanation as to why the student dropped out, giving the state no way to identify and prevent common causes of dropping out.
House Bills 1602 and 1618 now head to the full House for consideration.
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