Webutuck raises minimum dropout age to 17

WEBUTUCK — The Webutuck Board of Education (BOE) voted to adopt a policy that officially raised the minimum student dropout age in the district to 17 years old.The vote took place during the BOE meeting on Monday, Nov. 7.This new Webutuck policy is allowed under the Compulsory Attendance Law issued by the New York State Education Department, stating, “The Board of Education shall have power to require minors from 16 to 17 years of age who are not employed to attend upon full-time day instruction until the last day of session in the school year in which the student becomes 17 years of age.”The new policy will not affect those students who finish a four-year high school course of study before they turn 17 years old.BOE President Dale Culver said the school district needed to make it more difficult for students to drop out. He said that if the district wants the students to attain higher levels of academic performance, it can’t do anything that allows the students to stop that process.High School Principal Ken Sauer previously called the new policy a “phenomenal first step” for the district. “It can only serve to be a positive initiative,” he said.The policy went into effect immediately and will apply to all students currently enrolled in the district.

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