Skip School and Lose Your License? - the governor of Massachusetts has introduced legislation that would prohibit truant students from gettng their driver's licenses until the age of 18

Current Events, Oct 15, 1999

IN BOSTON, STUDENTS WHO miss more than five days of school may soon be missing out on more than schoolwork. Gov. Paul Cellucci of Massachusetts recently introduced a bill in the state legislature that would prevent truant students, or students who skip school without permission, from receiving driver's licenses until they turn 18 years old.

If passed, the Massachusetts bill would do more than delay students in getting driver's licenses for a couple of years. School skippers who already have a license could have it suspended if their school superintendent reported them. The bill also gives police the authority to escort to school those truant students found in public parks and other areas. "We think if a couple of kids lose their licenses, word will spread pretty quickly that you have to be in school," Cellucci said.

A Growing Trend?

Massachusetts isn't the first state to try taking away driving privileges from truant students. Nevada passed a similar bill a year ago, and seven students have since had their driver's licenses suspended for skipping school.

California's state legislature rejected such a bill last June. State Sen. Tom Hayden voted against the bill because, he said, "Kids are motivated by positive incentives and not by taking their driver's licenses away."

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) agree with Hayden in opposing the bill. Valerie Small-Navarro, an ACLU lobbyist, said lawmakers could more effectively address absenteeism and dropout rates by looking at the other, related issues of poverty and the lack of good role models for students. "[School absenteeism] has nothing to do with driver's licenses," Small-Navarro said.

Looking for Solutions

According to a recent survey, high school students in Boston miss an average 28 days each school year. Governor Cellucci says his bill will help remedy this growing problem in his state. Ivelis Rosado, a Massachusetts high school sophomore, agrees that the bill is a good idea. "[The truancy bill] helps with a lot of the things that are going on in [students'] lives."

The Massachusetts legislature is to vote on the bill sometime this fall. A similar bill failed in the Massachusetts legislature in 1997. Cellucci, however, thinks the bill can pass, and he hopes students will learn to stay in school. Cellucci said, "[Students] are supposed to be in school. They don't have a right not to go to school. They are the ones in violation of the law."

Should students who frequently miss school have their driver's licenses suspended or taken away?