Ensuring a high school diploma

Odds are, if you're a college student, you know the value of a high school diploma. The vast majority, if not all, of college students wouldn't be in universities without graduating first from high school, and even if you're not a college student, it is much more difficult to find work after high school if you don't have a diploma to show for your efforts.\nAs it stands now, Indiana is already very tough on high school dropouts. Last year, state legislators raised the legal dropout age from 16 to 18. If an Indiana student drops out of high school, he or she could lose work permits and driver's licenses.\nBut dropping out of high school in Indiana could become even more difficult under new legislation the Indiana General Assembly is considering. The Indianapolis Star reported Monday that the new legislation, if approved, would be among the most aggressive anti-dropout efforts in the nation. It would require schools to "identify and counsel students who display signs of becoming dropouts" and only allow students to drop out of high school if they can prove they have significant financial troubles or an illness, or get permission from a state judge. The bill would also allow students to earn diplomas at the state's Ivy Tech Community College or other private and public institutions willing to provide the classes, and also allow students who are falling behind to catch up on lost credits through high school counseling so they can graduate on time.\nWe agree with the bill's sponsor, Rep. Luke Messer, R-Shelbyville, who told the Star: "We will never be able to legislate away all teenage mistakes." Messer added that the current system is set up in such a way that students who make mistakes find it very hard to get their \nmistakes corrected. And we know that does not help solve the real problem of getting students into colleges and the workforce with diplomas.\nThe state Senate will review the bill today, and should be prepared to support it. All in all, the legislation sounds overwhelmingly positive, but senators should analyze closely whether these additional provisions will provide an undue strain on the state's public school system and whether the bill can indeed be enforced, which is critical to its success. \nWhile it would be difficult to find someone who doesn't \nsupport getting all Indiana teenagers to graduate high school, it would be simple to oppose such a bill because it would prove to be a financial burden to the state or to school districts. With students potentially finishing degrees at community colleges, there might be a good possibility to offset some funding. \nThe senators should ultimately remember that on the issues of immediate costs and enforceability, using additional resources to help someone graduate high school now would be easily outweighed by the possibility of the state having to support such a person later in life.