New Leadership in Kentucky Senate Doesn't Equal Easier Road for Dropout Bill

Kenny Colston — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Advocates for raising the dropout age in Kentucky have a new hope heading into the next legislative session. Currently, Kentucky law allows 16-year-olds to dropout of school with parental permission. And education advocates have pushed to raise the minimum dropout age to 18.

Dropout bills have consistently failed in Frankfort, but advocates are emboldened this year now that former Senate President David Williams is no longer in the General Assembly.

But new Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer says that doesn't mean the bill is a sure thing.

“Because there are legitimate policy concerns we have had with raising the dropout age to 18," the Georgetown Republican says.

Defense Department Grant to Help Hardin County Schools Combat Dropout Rate

Kevin Willis — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:21:14 +0000

Hardin County Schools will use a $1 million grant from the Defense Department to bolster dropout prevention efforts. The grant announced Thursday in Elizabethtown will pay for counseling programs for at-risk students, extended school services, and random drug testing at the district’s alternative school for troubled students.