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Bill Would Tie Driver's Licensing to School Attendance

January 20, 1998
By: liz cafer
State Capital Bureau

Missouri's House Education Committee was urged Tuesday to force students to stay in school another two years.

Liz Cafer has the latest story in Jefferson City.

The measure would raise the mandatory school-attendance age from 16 to 18.

And, it would require a kid be attending school to get a driver's license before age 18.

Representatives say the state could lower its dropout rate if school attendance were tied to driver's licensing.

But Diane McLelland, a lobbyist for Families for Home Education, says the bill takes away parental rights and doesn't address real problems.

"The entire process needs to have as its goal educated young people -- not just fulfilling some arbitrary requirement."

Legislators say that 50 percent of people on public assistance and 70 percent of those incarcerated don't have high-school diplomas.

In Jefferson City, I'm Liz Cafer.