Sen. Lisa Murkowski wants to develop dropout-prevention programs that target students as early as pre-kindergarten to help identify problems that could lead them to quit high school.
Under new legislation introduced by the Alaska Republican, current programs would be changed to focus more attention on detecting “the first signs of students sliding off course.”
Her bill, entitled “Early Intervention for Graduation Success,” targets school districts with the lowest graduation rates and directs federal grants to states that use the money to create more effective dropout-prevention efforts.
“Some may ask why I focus on toddlers and elementary school kids if we’re trying to solve the high school dropout problem facing our nation. The reason is simple: that’s when children’s troubles in school begin,” said Murkowski, who serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
“This bill is an education guardrail to get at-risk kids on track early and keep them moving forward,” she said.
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