ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9601020055
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
If the Roanoke School Board gets its way, minors in Virginia will have to meet a new requirement to get a driver's license: stay in school.
Dropouts would have to wait until they are 18 to drive. They could not get a license unless they returned to school.
The School Board wants the General Assembly to require all teens under 18 to be in school and be in good academic standing to obtain a license.
Now dropouts can get a permit if they have received counseling on the importance of school attendance and of completing an educational program. The objective of the counseling is to persuade the dropouts to return to school, but they are not required to do so to get a license.
The board wants to use driving privileges to pressure teens to remain in school.
The ban on dropout licenses has been included in the School Board's legislative proposals for the upcoming General Assembly session.
But the city's legislators question the proposal and none appears ready to push for its approval.
Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum said the requirement could prohibit dropouts from getting a job because they couldn't drive to work.
"You could be creating economic purgatory for them for two years until they are 18," he said. "In trying to do good, we sometimes create evil."
Woodrum said he agreed that teens should be pressured to remain in school, but he's not convinced that the denial of driving privileges is the proper approach.
"Whether we like it or not, not everyone is going to graduate from high school. Some of them work at 16 and 17, and they have to drive," he said.
"I'm cautious about being too restrictive. I'm not sure we ought to sentence dropouts to economic capital punishment."
Board member John Saunders, who favors the ban on licenses for dropouts, said it could be used as leverage to keep students in school. He said the schools should not help dropouts get licenses.
Board members believe their proposal would help lower the city's dropout rate, which has fallen from 7 percent to 5 percent during the past two years.
But the rate is still above the state average of 3.5 percent.
Superintendent Wayne Harris has set a goal of lowering the rate by 1 percentage point each year for the next three years and has proposed the creation of a "student support team" of psychologists and teachers to work with students who miss a lot of school and are potential dropouts.
The School Board decided to seek the change in the law after being told by its attorney that it can't prevent dropouts from getting a license if they receive counseling on the importance of staying in school.
If the General Assembly had intended to prevent dropouts from getting licenses, it could have eliminated the counseling requirement and mandated that a minor must be in school to get a permit, said Board Attorney William Parsons.
Parsons said the board cannot supercede the legislature.
State Sen.-elect John Edwards said there should be a provision to allow dropouts to drive to their jobs, because a denial of all driving privileges could create hardships.
"This needs to be looked at carefully. I haven't decided how to go on it," Edwards said.
Del. Vic Thomas said he also has concerns about the board's proposal. "If these people have jobs, how are they going to get there?" he asked. "That could create problems."
Woodrum said it could be difficult to get statewide support for a ban on dropout licenses because it would be so restrictive. It is unlikely that a measure would be considered on a local option basis because the requirements for a driver's license apply statewide, he said.
Recently, the School Board expanded counseling requirements for dropouts. In the past, dropouts have been required to attend only one session. Now they have to attend three sessions scheduled by the guidance coordinator at the high schools they normally would attend. As part of the counseling requirements, the dropouts will be required to write a two-page essay on their school or work plans.
The board has asked Harris to make regular reports on the number of counseling certificates that are issued and the number of dropouts who are persuaded to come back to school.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB