House Bill 492: An Act Raising the Compulsory Attendance Age

Author:
Representative Rogers

Summary:
This bill would have raised the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18. Although a child may terminate school enrollment at age 16 by filing a declaration of intent with the local board of education, the parent must ensure that the child's education will continue in an "alternative educational or training program approved by the State Department of Education."

This bill would also have deleted from current law the exemption from compulsory attendance allowed for children whose physical and mental condition presents or renders inadvisable their attendance at school. Such children would have to have been enrolled in school or taught by a private tutor even though a physician or county health officer had determined that they were physically or mentally incapacitated for school work.

Current law requires parents of children enrolled in a church school to file an enrollment form with the local superintendent. Students enrolled in other schools and those taught by private tutors have their enrollment reported to the county superintendent by the principal teacher of the school or the private tutor. This bill would have deleted the requirement that parents of children in a church school report their enrollment, but it would not have required the church school to report the enrollment. Only public schools, alternative educational or training programs, and private tutors would have had to report enrollment. This may have been an oversight by the sponsor.

Status:

02/17/2005		Introduced and referred to Education, Finance and Appropriations Committee
03/03/2005		Amended by Education, Finance, and Appropriations Committee
5/16/2005		Bill died when Legislature adjourned

HSLDA's Position:
This bill was opposed.

Action Requested:
None at this time.

Other Resources

Mar-04-2005 — Alabama--Calls Needed to Stop the State Increasing its Control of Your Children

Bill Text