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= Compulsory Attendance Laws Guide Ways of Education in America = Imagine if schooling were completely 100% voluntary in the United States, would you have attended school to further your education or would you have decided to help out your family by working at a younger age? Before 1852 the latter was the case for the majority of families in America. Families were able to choose whether they wanted to send their children to school, or if they wanted them to help out on the farm, or whether they wanted them to get another job to increase the family income. In Japan this is still the case. In Japan, schooling is compulsory up to junior high school, at which point it becomes completely voluntary. [|Japan] is one of the most highly educated countries in the world, so the question to be asked is whether compulsory schooling has actually been beneficial to the United States, or whether it defeats its original purpose ([|3])?


 * What is compulsory attendance?**

Compulsory attendance is when a "state legislative mandates attendance in public schools by children within certain age ranges for specific periods of time within the year" ([|5]). In the United States, compulsory attendance laws began in Massachusetts in 1852 when they passed the first law requiring that all "children between the ages of eight and fourteen had to attend school for twelve weeks per year, six of which had to be consecutive if the school remained open for that time" ([|5]). Ever since the [|Massachusetts School Attendance Act of 1852], schooling in America has changed in many different ways. By 1920, all states had adopted compulsory attendance laws of some sort (1).


 * Issues presented on compulsory attendance**

It has been questioned, especially in recent years, whether or not compulsory education should continue to be a law in the United States. Over the history of its use, some people have even questioned the constitutionality of compulsory attendance laws. Some argue that schooling has become more for “social engineering” rather than education itself ([|5]). Others argue that compulsory attendance “prolong[s] adolescence” and that compulsory attendance has discouraged many children from finding a sense of "self-determination" (1).

Would the entire country benefit more without there being compulsory attendance laws? Would children be more apt to //want// to attend school and learn? Would there be less violence if children were not forced to attend school? These are some of the common questions that arise with the topic of compulsory education. There have been several instances in the past where people have questioned the constitutionality of compulsory attendance laws, and the courts have found some of these laws unconstitutional. In 1901, the court case //**[|State v. Bailey]**//, upheld the constitutionality of the compulsory attendance law when a parent refused to send their child to school because they said that it “invaded the right as a parent to govern and control his children. ” The court said that “schooling may be viewed as a privilege or a duty rather than a basic right” and that it was the duty of the parent to educate their children “for the welfare and safety of the state" (1).

In the 1925 court case **[|Pierce v. Society of Sisters]**, a Catholic private school challenged the constitutionality of an Oregon law that required all students to attend only public schools. The court determined that the law was unconstitutional and that parents had the right to send their children to private schools because both public and private schools had the same goals in mind (1).

In the 1971 court case **//[|Wisconsin v. Yoder]//**, an Amish family argued that they did not want to send their children to school past the eighth grade and that it was not fair to force their children to go to school when it went against their religion. The court upheld their claim and, as a result, Amish children were considered exempt from the compulsory attendance laws and did not have to attend school after the eighth grade (1).


 * How has it helped?**

Between the years of 1870 and 1910, the illiteracy rate was virtually cut in half (Ensign, 252). This evidence suggests that compulsory attendance laws may have been effective in educating the citizens of this country. There is also strong evidence that shows that students perform better on tests when they attend school more often. For example, a survey in Rochester, New York revealed that students that “scored in the 85th to 100th percentile attended school 93 percent of the time.” The survey also revealed that students that scored below the 54th percentile attended school only 85% of the time. Another test revealed that “attendance was a stronger predictor of student achievement than poverty" ([|4]). In other words, attendance positively correlates with grades and test scores. By "forcing" children to attend school, overall test scores are likely to increase as well. Children that do not attend school will not perform as well on literacy or mathematics tests. By mandating that all children attend some sort of schooling, the entire country has benefited in some way or another by raising generations of children that have some sort of knowledge that is more than the generation before.

During the Industrial Revolution, child labor was a common thing and many children were forced into working conditions that were not safe or sanitary. States began to consider these conditions between 1885 and 1889, but many of the laws that were passed to help protect children were not strictly enforced. About "two million children, ages ten to thirteen, were employed in wage-earning occupations" which meant that there was a lot of competition for adults. Because children were often willing to work for less, many adults lost job opportunities because of children in the work force. Supporters of the newly formed compulsory attendance laws claimed that "education was necessary in a democracy and working children could not attend school" (2). During the Great Depression, many people understood the need for education for children and supported compulsory attendance because that would mean that children would not be able to take any more of the job opportunities that were limited as it was.

From the start Thomas Jefferson was an advocate for “free, universal education.” He, as well as other supporters, felt that increased education would “diminish crime and reduce poverty.” Many people, however, worried that by introducing free education, their children would be at risk of being in a world where “religious doctrines” and “parental authority” would be diminished and that children would not respect either as they should. Many people worried, however, that the increase in immigrants to the country would change the way America was seen to the world because of the variety of religions, languages, and cultures. Education could be used in order to create a sort of “national unity and uniformity” that could unite the citizens of America by teaching the youth all of the same ideas. In 1870, before America completely adopted the idea of compulsory education, “less than five per cent of the high school age portion of the population was attending school.” Many children completed minimal, if any, schooling and immediately began to help their family's financial situation by going out into the workforce. (1).
 * What was it like before compulsory attendance?**


 * The Future of Compulsory Attendance**

There are many people who believe that families should be able to decide on their own whether or not their children should attend school and how long they should attend. If the compulsory attendance laws were revoked, most children would continue their education through at least high school due to the high expectations in the workforce nowadays. Some families believe that their children are disrupted and learn less when children that do not want to go to school are forced to go and hinder the learning of others by taking up the teacher's time and interrupting the class. Although some of these arguments are well supported with evidence, the country as a whole has become somewhat dependent on the education system, and it is unknown whether or not the majority of families at this point would be able to take over in their job of teaching their children the bare essentials in life. The future of compulsory attendance has yet to be determined. Even though there are some people who wish they could go back to the times where compulsory attendance did not exist, the majority of people are pleased with the benefits of sending their children to school. Taxes are paid towards bettering the education of our youth. Without education being a prerequisite to most of what life has in store, who knows where our country would be right now? Compulsory attendance laws have allowed America to continue to build on its education from generation to generation. Without education how will America be able to advance themselves in the world?

Resources

1. Braden, Carole Lorraine. __Compulsory School Attendance Laws And The Juvenile Justice System__. Huntsville: Criminal Justice Center, 1978.

2. Ensign, Forest Chester. __Compulsory School Attendance and Child Labor__. Columbia University, 1921.

3. NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS. "Forcing Kids to Learn." 1996. [|www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/pdedu/pdedu26.html]

4. NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS. 2000. "Taking a Second Look at School Attendance." 

5.__Compulsory School Attendance-Development of Compulsory School Attendance Philosophy and Laws, Exemptions and Alternatives, Issues Associated__ __with Compulsory Attendance.__ 2009. StateUniversity.com.10 Feb. 2009. < [|http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1878/Compulsory-School-][|Attendance.html]>