Can you drop out in New York state without parental consent?

M

maxwell

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
New York Consolidated Laws, Education Law - EDN § 3205. Attendance of minors upon full time day instruction
It says "a minor... shall be required to remain in attendance until the last day of session in the school year in which the minor becomes sixteen years of age" not "parents shall be required to make their children attend school until the last day of session in the school year in which the minor becomes sixteen years of age". Does that tacitly mean that minors are not legally obligated to attend school even without parental consent?
 
maxwell said:
Does that tacitly mean that minors are not legally obligated to attend school even without parental consent?
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First, note the law provides that if the minor is not employed the school district may compel attendance through age 17. If you are not required to go, all that means is that the state will not penalize you for not going. Your parents may still compel you to go even if you decide not to go.

And it is foolish to drop out of high school. High school drop outs generally have lower income over their lifetimes than high school graduates and much less than college grads earn. That extra education pays off in the long term.
 
Tax Counsel said:
Your parents may still compel you to go even if you decide not to go.
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In the same sense that they can make you clean your room with penalties and bribes; or can they get legal assistance for doing so?*
This particular school district does not have any rules on the matter so the state's degree of freedom applies.
*Talking about enrollment--NOT truancy
 
maxwell said:
In the same sense that they can make you clean your room with penalties and bribes; or can they get legal assistance for doing so?
This particular school district does not have any rules on the matter so the state's degree of freedom applies.
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This matter has been addressed fairly extensively on another forum.

What school district?
 
Zigner said:
This matter has been addressed fairly extensively on another forum.

What school district?
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This is something of an emergency (I already told my counselor that I'm dropping out and am having some difficulties) so I'm trying to get an answer that I'm sure of immediately.
 
maxwell said:
This is something of an emergency (I already told my counselor that I'm dropping out and am having some difficulties) so I'm trying to get an answer that I'm sure of immediately.
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I can't fathom any "emergency" that would cause you to drop out of school against the wishes of your parents.

Again, without us knowing your district, there is no way any of us could really give an accurate answer.
 
So as I understand it after reading your post here and elsewhere, your plan is to drop out of school but without a job; no plans to get a job for another two years; and just sit and home letting your parents feed and cloth you while you sit on your backside not making any efforts to improve yourself?
 
cbg said:
So as I understand it after reading your post here and elsewhere, your plan is to drop out of school but without a job; no plans to get a job for another two years; and just sit and home letting your parents feed and cloth you while you sit on your backside not making any efforts to improve yourself?
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No, I said that out of sheer practicality. I'm trying to steer the conversation to legal advice and not life advice. I know this is probably too much to ask, but it would be nice if you would just assume that I'm making the right decision. Why judge someone making a decision you can't imagine why someone would make?

cbg said:
I am in my other life a novelist so I have a good imagination. I cannot come up with a set of circumstances under which dropping out of school at 16 with no plans that you're willing to elucidate would be a good idea. So if you're looking for anyone to agree with you that you're on a good path here, you're either going to have to be more forthcoming with the circumstances or adjust your expectations.

You have already been told that the answer is dependent on what school district you are in. Since you refuse to provide the name of the school district it looks as if that's all she wrote.

You want to play in the big leagues? Big league players pay an attorney to give them information; they don't post on message boards whining that no one will give them an answer when you refuse to provide any facts.
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I have actually stated repeatedly prior that the school district does not have any rules on the matter and so only the state law is relevant. Osteinsibly, they failed to read that, which isn't my fault. I did not want to point out that they failed to read my comments because that seemed inappropriate when they were already obviously ill-tempered about my challenges to their assertions. And even if I'd provided the school district, you wouldn't even know where the handbook is on their website, and a rule this specific can't normally be googeld up.
If you can't imagine why someone would make a decision, that is an indicator to not judge, not to judge.

shadowbunny said:
If you think you have difficulties now, just wait until you're living well below the poverty level because you couldn't be bothered to get your diploma.

" Workers with less than a high school diploma are the lowest earners on average when you examine the average salary by education level. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), median weekly earnings for those with less than a high school degree are $493. That works out to $25,636 per year, assuming a year of constant earning. The unemployment rate for Americans with less than a high school diploma is 8%, the highest of any of the educational categories." The Average Salary by Education Level - SmartAsset
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Correlation, not causation. If everyone says that you won't be able to get a high-paying job if you drop out, then only people who don't care about getting a high-paying job will drop out. And people who don't care about getting a high-paying job typically don't get a high-paying job.
(I'm replying here because I can't add more comments.)
 
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maxwell said:
No, I said that out of sheer practicality. I'm trying to steer the conversation to legal advice and not life advice. I know this is probably too much to ask, but it would be nice if you would just assume that I'm making the right decision. Why judge someone making a decision you can't imagine why someone would make?
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As was pointed out (either here or on the other forum), the process of dropping out requires parental consent.
 
Do children have to go to school after the end of their compulsory education--or can parents only try to make them go to school without the police to back them up?
 
I am in my other life a novelist so I have a good imagination. I cannot come up with a set of circumstances under which dropping out of school at 16 with no plans that you're willing to elucidate would be a good idea. So if you're looking for anyone to agree with you that you're on a good path here, you're either going to have to be more forthcoming with the circumstances or adjust your expectations.

You have already been told that the answer is dependent on what school district you are in. Since you refuse to provide the name of the school district it looks as if that's all she wrote.

You want to play in the big leagues? Big league players pay an attorney to give them information; they don't post on message boards whining that no one will give them an answer when you refuse to provide any facts.
 
Please keep your related questions in your original thread. Thank you.

ETA: This post was moved from another thread, so is no longer needed.
 
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maxwell said:
This is something of an emergency (I already told my counselor that I'm dropping out and am having some difficulties) so I'm trying to get an answer that I'm sure of immediately.
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If you think you have difficulties now, just wait until you're living well below the poverty level because you couldn't be bothered to get your diploma.

" Workers with less than a high school diploma are the lowest earners on average when you examine the average salary by education level. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), median weekly earnings for those with less than a high school degree are $493. That works out to $25,636 per year, assuming a year of constant earning. The unemployment rate for Americans with less than a high school diploma is 8%, the highest of any of the educational categories." The Average Salary by Education Level - SmartAsset
 
This was young Maxwell's reply to me:

"Correlation, not causation. If everyone says that you won't be able to get a high-paying job if you drop out, then only people who don't care about getting a high-paying job will drop out. And people who don't care about getting a high-paying job typically don't get a high-paying job.
(I'm replying here because I can't add more comments.)"

They are SO daggone cute at this age. Little Max has all the answers.

So Maxwell.. what you're saying is that only people who don't want high-paying jobs drop out. That's quite the theory. Tell me... how many people do you know that want low-paying jobs? And pray tell -- what high paying job are you qualified for?
 
shadowbunny said:
They are SO daggone cute at this age. Little Max has all the answers.
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Yes, they THINK they're smart, too.

shadowbunny said:
how many people do you know that want low-paying jobs?
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I once had one tell me that IT didn't want any job. IT claimed that, in IT's words: "All anyone ever needs will be given to ME by the government."

Ain't that clever?
 
maxwell said:
Do children have to go to school after the end of their compulsory education--or can parents only try to make them go to school without the police to back them up?
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Pay an attorney to answer your question(s). Note I said "pay" as the State will not pay for an attorney to advise you on this matter, but rest assured they will pay for a public defender for all your (likely) future criminal issues.
 

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