CONCORD - Saying it is time to take bold action to reduce the state's high school dropout rate, Gov. John Lynch today proposed legislation increasing the state's compulsory education age from 16 to 18, and a new statewide effort to encourage young people to stay in school until they get their diplomas.

He was joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, business leaders, educators, and law enforcement.

"Every year, an estimated 2,500 New Hampshire children drop out of high school. We must make it clear to our children that we are not going to give up on them, or let them give up on themselves," Gov. Lynch said.

"We must change the law and require young people to stay in school until 18. We should not and will not stop there. This change gives us a goal to mobilize around. We must use this an opportunity to begin a statewide drive to make sure young people not only go to school, but want to stay in school," Gov. Lynch said.

The proposed change would go into effect for the 2008-2009 school year.

"We will use those 18 months to focus our state on developing strategies to make sure no child leaves school before 18, and more leave with a diploma in hand," Gov. Lynch said.

Gov. Lynch has directed the state Department of Education to plan for a statewide summit so that schools can learn from each other about what is working to keep young people in school.

In addition, the state's new Dropout Recovery and Oversight Council will soon begin accepting applications from school districts to support local dropout prevention programs.

This year, the state distributed nearly $4 million in grants, through the Workforce Opportunity Council and Department of Education, to support local dropout prevention programs.

The state's compulsory education law was set at 16 in 1903.

"At that time, young people who left school could get decent-paying jobs on the farms or at the mills. One hundred and two years later, that is no longer true," Gov. Lynch said. "The military won't take you without a high school degree. The IBEW won't even give you an application for their apprenticeship program without a high school degree. One business leader I spoke to said, we have lots of good-paying jobs, but not for anyone without a high school diploma.

"Letting children drop out of school at 16 is the wrong policy for them and the wrong policy for our state," Gov. Lynch said. "We must launch a bold new effort to bring down New Hampshire's dropout rate, and to recognize the educational laws of the early 20th century don't meet the demands of the 21st century."

The state pays a high cost for high school dropouts, and so do dropouts. Nearly 80 percent of prisoners in America are high school dropouts. Dropouts are twice as likely to be on welfare. Rates of teen pregnancy, substance abuse and crime are significantly higher among dropouts. Adults between the ages of 25 and 34 who dropped out of high school earn significantly less than high school graduates of the same age.

"Education is the key to our economic future. We face new competition from across the world, and the only way for our economy to continue to thrive is if we have the best-educated workforce possible. We can't afford for 2,500 of our citizens every year to give up their chance of reaching their full potential," Gov. Lynch said.

Seventeen other states currently require students to stay in school until 18.

In 2000, Connecticut raised its attendance law from age 16 to 18. At the time, the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked Connecticut 30th in the nation for high school dropouts. In 2004, Connecticut had improved its ranking to third.

The sponsors of the legislation are Sen. Dick Green, Sen. Iris Estabrook, Sen. John Gallus, Sen. Sylvia Larsen, Sen. Bob Odell, Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, Sen. Andy Martel, Sen. Joe Foster, and Representatives Ken Weyler, Rep. Jim Craig, Rep. Steve L'Heureux, Rep. Clare Synder and Rep. Tim Dunn.