Montana lawmakers to introduce changes to student dropout age

High school dropouts cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year. According to the Montana Office of Public Instruction, taxpayers could save close to $20 million state-wide by improving the graduation rate by just 5 percent. Crime reduction would be one of the savings areas, 75 percent of all inmates in Montana are high school dropouts.

The high school dropout rate has been steadily falling over the past five years but students can legally drop out of school at age 16 in Montana. A new bill being introduced in the state legislature this month aims to change that.

Montana law states that children must attend school between the ages of 7 and 16. Senate Bill 14 would change the age from 16 to 18, adding two more years of compulsory enrollment.

Jacqueline Gedeon, KTVM Butte Reporter, [email protected]

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