The Logic Behind Our Legislative Alerts

State - Current
H 4646
An Act permitting Non Public School Students to Take MCAS Exam; Status: May 6: Reported from the Joint committee on Education; New draft of H 473; Reported favorably by committee and referred to the House committee on Ways and Means.

H 4753
A Bill Relative to High School Dropouts; Status: Reported favorably by the Education committee and referred to the House Committee On Ways and Means, 6/14/2010.

H 4855
An Order relative to authorizing the committee on Education to make an
investigation and study of certain House documents concerning education issues; Status: Reported favorably by the Education committee and referred to the House Committee On Rules, 7/7/2010.

S 245
An Act Changing the Maximum Required Age for School Attendance. Status: Referred to the Joint committee on Education 1/20/2009; Public Hearing held 11/10/2009; reported favorably, incorporated into H 4753, and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, 6/14/2010.

S 270
An Act Amending School Attendance. Status: Referred to the Joint committee on Education 1/20/2009; Public Hearing held 11/10/2009; reported favorably, incorporated into H 4753, and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, 6/14/2010.

H 355
An Act Raising the Compulsory Attendance Age to 18. Status: Referred to the Joint committee on Education 1/20/2009; Public Hearing held 11/10/2009; reported favorably, incorporated into H 4753, and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, 6/14/2010.

H 369
An Act Concerning Kindergarten and the Mandatory Minimum Age for School Attendance. Status: Referred to the Joint committee on Education 1/20/2009; Public Hearing held 5/5/2009; accompanied a study order, H 4855, 7/7/10.

H 473
An Act permitting Non Public School Students to Take MCAS Exam; Status: Referred to the Joint committee on Education 1/20/2009; Public Hearing held 6/23/2009. On May 6 it accompanied a new draft, H 4646.

Federal - Current

State - Past

Various Bills to Raise Compulsory Attendance Age Status: Is now SB 2766. Passed to be engrossed by the House, Senate concurred in the House amendment, July 2008. Signed into law August 2008.

HB 399
"An Act to Institute Full Day Kindergarten." Status: Is now part of a study order, HB 4748; is with the committee on House Rules since May 2008. Dead.

HB 400
"An Act Relative to the Awarding of High School Diplomas." Status: Included in HB 4536, an order that gives the Education committee the authority to sit during the recess of the General Court to investigate and study issues relating to MCAS. The committee will make recommendations to the General Court on or before 12/31/08. Dead.

HB 416
"An Act Providing That Parents and Legal Guardians be Held Responsible for School Attendance of Children in Their Care." Status: Now part of HB 4596, a study order relative to authorizing the committee on Education to make an investigation and study of certain House documents concerning governance, parents and bilingual education. Discharged to the committee on House Rules, March 2008. Dead.

HB 507
"An Act Relative to Home Schooling." Status: Part of HB 4530 as of March 2008. Dead.

HB 1044
“An Act Relative to Increasing the Mandatory School Age."
Status: Combined with other bills to create HB 4738 (see below)

HB 1202
"An Act Relative to Public School Attendance Requirements."
Status: Combined with other bills to create HB 4738 (see below)

HB 1220
An Act Relative to Home Schooling (would allow otherwise instructed students to take MCAS & require schools to give students who pass public high school diplomas)
Status: Bbecame part of a study order, HB 4822, and is now dead.

House Bill 4738
An Act Relative to Public School Attendance Requirements
Status: Dead.

SB 1907
An Act Providing for the Denial of Driver's Licenses to Truants
Status: Included in SB 2417. Status: Dead.

SB 2125
“An Act Relative to Eligibility for a License to Operate a Motor Vehicle.”
Status: Included in SB 2417. Status: Dead.

SD 2259
Home Education
Status: Dead

HD 4568 & SB 278, now HB 4666
An Act Relative to Ensuring That All Students Have Access to Educational Opportunities and Quality Learning Time (would have extended age of compulsory attendance)
Status: Dead

SB 1321
An Act Providing for the Denial of Driver's Licenses to Truants
Status: Dead

HB 1825
An Act to Improve Truancy Enforcement and Encourage School Attendance
Status: Dead

Federal - past

S 3076
“Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008.”

Miscellaneous federal homeschooling legislation

HR 1815 The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. Passed.

HR 3139
Youth Worker Protection Act

HR 2732 / S 1562
Homeschool Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 (HoNDA)
Status: Dead, but some of its provisions have passed into bills in the 109th Congress

Legislative Issues
State and federal legislation past and present that could affect homeschoolers in Massachusetts.

Legislative Update -- June 2010
On June 14th, some bills that AHEM has been watching, S 245, S 270, H 355, and H 363, were all “reported favorably” by their respective House and Senate committees, redrafted/incorporated into a new bill, H 4753, “A Bill Relative to High School Dropouts” (http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/186/ht04pdf/ht04753.pdf), and referred to the House committee on Ways and Means. The House Ways and Means committee studies the financial impact the bill would have on the Commonwealth should it become law.

H 4753 revises and amends MGL Ch. 69 to require the Board of Education to set the age for school attendance to no younger than 18. (It is 16 now.)

H 4753 also revises and amends Ch. 76 by striking language that allows exemptions from school attendance for 14-16 year olds who are employed. It adds many provisions intended to lower the drop out rate such as language requiring districts to help regular school students make up exams and assignments when they have missed a lot of school days during a given term; requirements for school committees to establish pupil absence notification programs; requirements for school administrators to give pupils 18 and older who have not graduated and are absent from school “information about the benefits of earning a high school diploma and non-traditional educational programs and services available to the student”; and so on.

The bill would gradually phase in the rise of the age of compulsory attendance: If the bill were to pass, from the effective date until June 30, 2011 all children under the age of 16 ½ would be required to attend school if they have not graduated from high school. From July 1, 2011 until June 30, 2013 all children under the age of 17 would be required to attend school if they have not graduated from high school. As of July 1, 2013, the age of 18 would be effective.

In July, AHEM wrote a letter to the House Ways and Means committee pointing out the problems with H 4753. Raising the compulsory attendance age would be ineffective in reducing the dropout rate, and would result in increased spending for school departments. We noted that the recent report, "Making the Connection," (October 2009), from the Graduation and Dropout Prevention and Recovery Commission, while purporting to recommend "evidence-based strategies" to reduce the dropout rate, went on to recommend raising the compulsory attendance age to 18, despite the report's own assertion that "The simple act of increasing the compulsory age… will only retain a handful of students." Indeed, research conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics has shown that states requiring compulsory attendance until age sixteen have a higher average for school completion than those states requiring compulsory attendance until age seventeen or eighteen. States requiring attendance until age sixteen have a lower dropout rate than those states compelling attendance until ages seventeen or eighteen.

The financial ramifications that would result from extending the compulsory attendance age would include increased costs in teachers' salaries, classrooms, and transportation. If these bills were likely to achieve the desired results, the cost/benefit analysis would justify these higher costs. However, since statistics show that raising the compulsory attendance age would not result in a higher rate of high school completion, the financial burden to taxpayers and already fiscally strapped school departments cannot be justified.

We also noted that raising the age to 18 could remove alternatives, such as early graduation, from motivated students for whom traditional public school is not working.

H 4646 - AN ACT PERMITTING NON PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TO TAKE MCAS EXAM (Martha Walz for the committee on Education) The department of elementary and secondary education shall issue a report on the feasibility and costs associated with non-public school students and home schooled students in grade 10 voluntarily taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam; provided further, that said report shall be provided to the secretary of administration and finance, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, and the clerks of the senate and house of representatives who shall forward the same to the chair of the senate ways and means committee, the chair of the house ways and means committee, and the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on education on or before June 1, 2011. H 4646 has also been referred to the Ways and Means committee to study the cost feasibility of having the Board of Education issue a report on the feasibility and costs associated allowing non-public school students to take the MCAS.

AHEM is researching how specific language in H 4753 and H 4646 could affect homeschoolers. We will keep an eye on their progress through the Ways and Means committee, and let you know if any action is needed.

H 4855 - AN ORDER RELATIVE TO AUTHORIZING THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION TO MAKE AN INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF CERTAIN HOUSE DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDUCATION ISSUES The committee is to report the results of its investigation and study, and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry such recommendations into effect, by filing same with the Clerk of the House of Representatives on or before the last Wednesday of December, Two Thousand and Ten.

AHEM will continue to monitor the bills cited above as the legislative session progresses, and communicate any changes.

Back to Get Involved .

The information on this website does not constitute legal advice; it is provided for informational purposes only.