Whitmer Signs Bill To Help High School Dropouts Continue Their Education

LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT)  -- Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bills 650 and 651, with bipartisan support, on Friday to continue the Dropout Recovery Program, which encourages school districts to identify students who have dropped out of school and enroll them in a specialized program to help finish their high school degree.   

"Every student deserves a pathway to a great education that can get them on a path to success despite the setbacks they may have encountered along the way," Whitmer said. "That's why it's so important to continue opportunities, like the Dropout Recovery Program, for students to reconnect and re-engage with educators across the state to complete their degree." 

Senate Bills 650 and 651, sponsored by Senators Lana Theis  (SD-22) and Jeremy Moss (SD-11), will take immediate effect.  

According to the U.S. Department of Education, while the high school graduation rate reached a record high of 84 percent in 2016, more than 500,000 students across the country drop out of high school each year.  

In 2012, the Dropout Recovery Program was created to reach out to students who had dropped out of high school and connect them with a specialized education program to complete the courses needed to graduate.  

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