Age requirements for free and compulsory education help policymakers ensure that students receive the benefits of early education and support a reduction in dropout rates. Depending on the state, students are required to attend school for as few as nine years and up to 13 years. However, exemptions exist on both sides of the K-12 spectrum to…

This 50-State Review defines and explores free and compulsory education, and includes state examples, policy considerations, exemptions and requirements.

Policymakers across the nation continue to push for expanded free and compulsory school age requirements. More states are considering granting students earlier access to a free education so that they can begin their academic pursuits earlier in life. Similarly, every year a number of states consider extending the upper limit for compulsory school…

President Barack Obama's call for every state to require school attendance until age 18 may spark a flurry of action in some statehouses, but changing attendance laws will do little by itself to drive down the nation's dropout rates, experts on the issue say. In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama said states should require…

The proportion of U.S. high school students working during the school year ranges from 23% in the freshman year to 75% in the senior year. This study estimates how cumulative work histories during the high school years affect probability of dropout, high school academic performance, and the probability of attending college. Variations in…

What is the mandatory age of attendance in each of the states? Specifically, what is the age at which a student may leave school with or without parental consent, and what if any caveats or requirements are attached to dropping out? To answer these questions, the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast (REL-SE) staff conducted a Google search…

The South Africa Schools Act requires every child to "attend school from the first school day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of seven years until the last day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of 15 years or the ninth grade, whichever comes first" (Republic of South Africa, 1996). This paper addresses…

Almost one-third of all American public high school students, and one-half of African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, fail to graduate from high school with their class. In recent years, more states have been passing or introducing legislation to raise the compulsory school age. Today's globally competitive economy requires at least a…

Educators are increasingly critical of State compulsory education laws. Argues that these regulations do little to assure that the basic goals of schooling are achieved. Commenting briefly on this thesis are Sidney P. Marland, Jr., B. Frank Brown, John Brubacher, Paul Salmon, and Juanita Jones. (Author)

As one report in a comprehensive study of Illinois state mandates for elementary and secondary education, this study covers the three major areas in the Illinois compulsory attendance law: students' entrance age, their exit age, and the schools' obligation to enfore truancy regulations. After brief histories of compulsory attendance laws in the…