Fund Urged for ‘War’ on School Dropout Rate

Calling for a “war” on the high school dropout problem in California, Sen. Art Torres (D-South Pasadena) Wednesday outlined a bill that would allocate $14 million to tackle the state’s steep 31% dropout rate.

The proposed project would focus on dropouts between the ages of 13 and 19, as well as potential dropouts, by setting up evaluation and counseling services in school districts with particularly high dropout rates. Students would be encouraged to return to school or to take the high school proficiency examination instead of quitting.

“Almost one-third of our students are on the streets of California, not in the classroom,” Torres said. “They face an uncertain future of unemployment or low-paying jobs or even crime.”

State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig joined Torres in a Capitol press conference in support of the legislation and said solving the dropout problem is one of his major goals.

A similar Torres bill that contained only $4 million was vetoed by Gov. George Deukmejian last year. The senator said the new bill calls for more money because it provides for educational clinics to counsel dropouts--as did the old bill--as well as a new “holding” program to identify and counsel “high-risk” students while they are in elementary school, to prevent future dropouts.

Honig said the governor’s veto last year “did not mean he was against the concept. It was his consideration of economics and funds for other high-priority programs.”

School authorities attribute the escalating dropout problem to social and economic conditions, with the attrition rate being noticeably higher in low-income districts. They contend that the main reasons students drop out are pressures to join the work force early, and poor performance in school.

Cites Recent Study

Honig referred to a recent study conducted by the Los Angeles Unified School District examining attendance records of 49 schools over the last six years. The district reported an average dropout rate of 42.3%, which is substantially higher than other districts throughout the state. He added that “dropout” refers to a student who has been out of school for 45 days and has not enrolled in another school.

“Once they are out of school, very few students make the decision to come back,” Honig said, adding that the problem in Los Angeles is “a bit more severe.”