Concerned about the territory’s high dropout rate, senators passed a bill Thursday requiring students to stay in school until they are 18 years old.
The mandatory age for attendance is currently 16, but members of the Senate Committee on Education, Youth and Culture said Thursday that trying to make sure students put in the extra two years could inspire more to stick around until graduation. It might also push students to aim for academics instead of vocational training, some senators said.
"As a teacher, I’ve seen the dangers of giving a child the option of not going to school," said Sen. Michael Thurland. "Then they are just out there in the community, influencing other kids in the neighborhoods and getting them not to go to school either."
Called the Education Policy Improvement Act, the bill also requires students in the fourth, sixth, eighth and 12th grades to pass a proficiency test before they can graduate or move onto the next grade level. If a student fails the exam, they have to retake it during the summer, or complete a summer program specifically designed to help them improve in areas in which they’re deficient.
Bill sponsor and committee chairman Sen. Wayne James said the system of holding students back doesn’t make sense, since they end up being stuck with the same teachers who "aren’t going to do anything to improve the student’s skills."
While most senators agreed with this section, others, such as Sen. Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, said that not allowing students to proceed to the next grade because they haven’t passed a standardized exam basically punishes the student instead of the teachers who failed to educate them.
Rivera-O’Reilly said it might be better to implement the changes as a pilot program, instead of forcing the Education Department to enforce the policy within a year after the bill is signed into law.
"That way we can administer it, gather the data and then fix the weaknesses before we roll it out completely," she added.
The bill also pushes the department to implement a V.I. history curriculum for public school students in kindergarten through grade 12.
Senators also approved bills:
-strengthening restrictions on the production and distribution of child pornography, and imposing a $100,000 fine and an up to 20-year jail sentence for violators;
-creating a Centennial Commission charged with organizing the territory’s 100th Transfer Day celebrations, and giving them $10 million from the General Fund — which must be fully funded on or before Sept. 30, 2013 — to work with; and
-officially making Oct. 1 "Fireburn Day" in the territory, and adding it to the list of government holidays.
Present during Thursday’s meeting were Sens. Craig W. Barshinger, Louis P. Hill, Neville James, Wayne James, Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Rivera-O’Reilly and Thurland.