State House approves Rep. Bartlett drop out legislation

State Rep Jason Bartlett's long fight in addressing high school drop out rates jumped a major hurdle last week with the passage of his bill which will raise the age students can dump high school.

As you know, Rep. Bartlett has been pushing for passage of this legislation for months and has done a guest post on My Left Nutmeg about the merits of the bill. Although the bill died in committee, Rep. Bartlett led the charge and, with supporters of the legislation, petitioned to have the bill be moved to the House chamber.

Well, the hard work has paid off as the bill was introduced on the House floor and passed with bi-partisan support. Upon approval of the bill, Rep Bartlett issued the following statement:

Dropping out at 16 is simply not adequate, and having a law on the books that allows kids to do that sends a wrong message. There’s an extremely competitive market for jobs right now, and having an education is critical for earning a living wage.

It was a hard-fought battle to get this change, but I am glad that my colleagues joined with me and understand the reasons why this is so important,” Bartlett remarked. “If we are going to remain competitive, if we are going to advance the needs of generations coming after us, then this is one important change we can make that will have an impact. I am hopeful that my colleagues in the Senate will realize how important this legislation is and pass the bill in concurrence with the House.

From Thursday, here are highlights from debate on Rep. Bartlett's drop out bill.



Rep. Bartlett has agreed to do a follow-up guest post for My Left Nutmeg where he'll address the passage of the bill...