The state must be responsible for the education of all youth through age 18. Youth who are expelled by a school should still be entitled to services. The state should assure that effective alternate opportunities are available either in the public or private sector. If the school is unable to provide these services, then funding will follow the youth to the entity providing appropriate opportunities.
Many young people who come into contact with the social services system have been failed by the educational system. Many have never completed high school because they either dropped out or were expelled. Job opportunities and the outlook for these youth are dismal.
If youth are unmotivated or unsuccessful in standard classroom programs, the state must develop new programs targeted specifically to the problems faced by these students. No student should leave Michigan's educational system before reaching the age of 18 or graduating because he or she can't "make it." Every child is capable of learning. We must be responsible for these youth and their education.
If a public school decides it cannot cope with particular students, then a way must be found to move them into alternatives that can and will address their learning and behavioral needs.
We want Michigan's children to be competitive in the classroom.
Competition between educational facilities may be necessary to meet the needs of some of our students. School funding will follow a student to the alternative chosen to meet that student's needs.
The future of each youngster is so important that we must not be hemmed in by school boundaries or school budgets. Solutions will not be easy, but we know that many of Michigan's young people need innovative and individualized preparation to succeed as adults. Failure to respond to their needs will surely result in increased dependency on welfare. Michigan cannot afford that loss.
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