Dropout bill passes
Senate approves dropout prevention bill on second try
Brendan Hoover
OKLAHOMA CITY--A bill championed by Gov. Brad Henry and co-authored by District 45 Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson (R-Oklahoma City), prohibiting students under the age of 18 from dropping out of school, passed the Oklahoma State Senate Thursday on its second try.
Senate Bill 519, by Wilcoxson and District 4 Sen. Kenneth Corn (D-Poteau) was defeated Feb. 28 in its first attempt to pass the floor of the Senate, 23-20, with five senators excused from the vote.
Corn held the bill on a motion to reconsider, giving senators another chance to vote on the issue.
The bill passed the reconsider vote, 31-14, with three excused from the vote.
Wilcoxson said Thursday the bill passed due to increased pressure from the Governor’s office after its initial failure.
“In his state of the state address, the governor said we need legislation reducing the number of dropouts in Oklahoma. (This bill) says that we cannot afford to lose a single child--that we understand how important it is to keep them in school and make sure they earn their high school diploma,” Wilcoxson said.
The bill would delete text from an outdated statute passed in the 1970s, stating that children 16 and older could drop out of school if school administrators and parents agreed it was in the child’s best interest, Wilcoxson said.
“It’s never in their best interest, nor the best interest of the community for us to have students not having a high school diploma,” she said after the bill’s initial defeat.
In his weekly column, Gov. Henry said last year 4,000 Oklahoma students dropped out of high school and will earn, on average, only 65 percent of what a high school graduate would earn.
“My goal is for every student in Oklahoma to earn a high school diploma. Some may suggest that just isn’t possible, but it is something we must pursue, not just for the betterment of the students but for the state as a whole,” Henry said.
The bill is part of Gov. Henry’s education initiatives for the 2007 session, and he is also proposing additional funding for remediation programs and alternative schools that could help students who are at risk for dropping, his office said.
District 23 Sen. Ron Justice (R-Chickasha) voted against the bill twice.
“I’m well aware that’s it’s important for children to stay in school until they’re 18, but I felt like the language of the bill was such that it wouldn’t give parents and school administrators an opportunity to handle special situations when it is in the best interest of the child to leave school for some time,” Justice said.
The next stop for SB 519 is a State House committee.
Senate approves dropout prevention bill on second try
Brendan Hoover
OKLAHOMA CITY--A bill championed by Gov. Brad Henry and co-authored by District 45 Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson (R-Oklahoma City), prohibiting students under the age of 18 from dropping out of school, passed the Oklahoma State Senate Thursday on its second try.
Senate Bill 519, by Wilcoxson and District 4 Sen. Kenneth Corn (D-Poteau) was defeated Feb. 28 in its first attempt to pass the floor of the Senate, 23-20, with five senators excused from the vote.
Corn held the bill on a motion to reconsider, giving senators another chance to vote on the issue.
The bill passed the reconsider vote, 31-14, with three excused from the vote.
Wilcoxson said Thursday the bill passed due to increased pressure from the Governor’s office after its initial failure.
“In his state of the state address, the governor said we need legislation reducing the number of dropouts in Oklahoma. (This bill) says that we cannot afford to lose a single child--that we understand how important it is to keep them in school and make sure they earn their high school diploma,” Wilcoxson said.
The bill would delete text from an outdated statute passed in the 1970s, stating that children 16 and older could drop out of school if school administrators and parents agreed it was in the child’s best interest, Wilcoxson said.
“It’s never in their best interest, nor the best interest of the community for us to have students not having a high school diploma,” she said after the bill’s initial defeat.
In his weekly column, Gov. Henry said last year 4,000 Oklahoma students dropped out of high school and will earn, on average, only 65 percent of what a high school graduate would earn.
“My goal is for every student in Oklahoma to earn a high school diploma. Some may suggest that just isn’t possible, but it is something we must pursue, not just for the betterment of the students but for the state as a whole,” Henry said.
The bill is part of Gov. Henry’s education initiatives for the 2007 session, and he is also proposing additional funding for remediation programs and alternative schools that could help students who are at risk for dropping, his office said.
District 23 Sen. Ron Justice (R-Chickasha) voted against the bill twice.
“I’m well aware that’s it’s important for children to stay in school until they’re 18, but I felt like the language of the bill was such that it wouldn’t give parents and school administrators an opportunity to handle special situations when it is in the best interest of the child to leave school for some time,” Justice said.
The next stop for SB 519 is a State House committee.
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