HB0158 Kreider, Jim

P R E F I L E D

HB 158 -- School Attendance

This bill raises the age for compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18.

The bill requires any person under 18 years of age who wishes to obtain a motor vehicle operator's license or temporary permit to present to the Director of Revenue a high school diploma or a general education development certificate (GED), or documentation that the applicant is attending high school and has earned a minimum of 2.25 units of credit the preceding semester, is enrolled in a special education program for the handicapped, is enrolled in a private or home school program, is enrolled in an approved alternative curriculum for students at risk, or is attempting to obtain a GED.

The bill requires superintendents of schools or chief administrative officers of nonpublic schools or parents in the case of home school students to provide documentation of enrollment status and progress toward graduation on approved forms. If a student drops out of school, has 10 or more consecutive unexcused absences, or has 15 unexcused absences in a semester, the school or parent of a home school student is required to notify the Department of Revenue, which will then notify the student that his or her operator's license will be suspended within 30 days if he or she does not provide required documentation. Persons knowingly submitting false information are guilty of a class C misdemeanor.

The bill permits local school boards to decline to pursue revocation of an emancipated minor's driver's license if they determine that it is in the minor's best interest to have a license.

The bill also requires parental approval before individuals under the age of 18 who are not emancipated minors may receive an operator's license and contains provisions whereby parents of such children may petition the circuit court to revoke their childrens' operator's licenses.