Lawrence City Council Seeks Authority To Raise Dropout Age

The City of Lawrence could become the first in the state to increase the age at which a person can legally drop out of high school.

The Lawrence City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a home rule petition, which asks the Legislature to give the city the authority to raise the dropout age to 18, from 16.

But City Councilor Modesto Maldonado cautions that the vote will not solve the dropout problem.

"We're going to need to allocate resources in order to create more truant officers and probably counseling that are going to help a lot of our young men and young ladies to stay in school and be successful," Maldonado said.

Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua is expected to sign the home rule petition and send it on to Beacon Hill.