Res. No. 987 Title Resolution calling upon the Department of Education to stop the practice of "pushing out" high school students and, instead, to track and seek to reinstate high school students under the age of 21 who were discharged, "pushed out," or who dropped out of high school. Body By Council Members Foster, Baez, Barron, Clarke, Comrie, Katz, Liu, Lopez, Rivera, Seabrook, Stewart, Vann, Gennaro and Quinn Whereas, Although New York State law allows students to stay in high school until the age of 21, there is evidence that substantial and growing numbers of high school students are being "pushed out" of high school and/or advised to enroll in other academic settings, such as GED programs, as young as age 16, even though there is evidence that few such students actually enroll in or graduate from other academic settings; and Whereas, Advocates for Children released a report entitled "Pushing Out At-Risk Students: An Analysis of High School Discharge Figures," (the Report), dated November 21, 2002, which argues that pressure for high schools to show a high graduation rate and low dropout rate has resulted in high schools counseling low performing students and students with discipline problems to leave school; and Whereas, The Report states that, during the 2000-2001 academic year, more than 55,000 students were discharged from New York City high schools, supposedly to other academic settings, 14,579 students dropped out and only 34,000 students graduated from high school; and Whereas, For example, William Taft High School reported that 1,018 students out of its peak enrollment of 2,493 were discharged during the 2000-2001 academic year, including 369 dropouts, and that among the students who started ninth grade at Taft High School in 1997, only 123 had graduated, while 253 had been discharged and 157 had dropped out; and Whereas, Some adult and GED educators report a 30-40% increase in the number of high school age students as young as 16 years old enrolling in their programs, even though such students would benefit from more years of high school education rather than a short-term GED program; and Whereas, According to a number of advocates, the Department of Education no longer compiles clear information on the many reasons why students are discharged and does not track whether students referred to alternative education programs actually enroll in or graduate from those programs; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department of Education to stop the practice of "pushing out" high school students and, instead, to track and seek to reinstate high school students under the age of 21 who were discharged, pushed out, or who dropped out of high school. (MHG) LS# 2928