License-for-grades Bill Advances
School Officials Weigh-in on Bill’s Effectiveness

West Virginia teens could lose their driver’s licenses for skipping school or misbehaving in class under an amended proposal that the House has passed to the state Senate. Area superintendents say the bill is good in theory but doubt how effective the law would be in practice.

“If anything would cause students to think twice about doing wrong it is a good thing,” Randolph County Superintendent Sue Hinzman said. “But it will not reduce bad behavior. When kids get angry they do not look at the consequences until after the fact.”

However, Hinzman said enforcing the ramifications would “be a nightmare for us.” She said it will be up to the school system to explain to parents and students why the license would be taken away and the affected students and parents will seek answers from local educators.

The bill, which advanced 80-15 Monday, also would threaten licenses of students who fail to make “satisfactory progress” in school.

The bill was originally proposed by Gov. Joe Manchin and linked licenses solely to students maintaining at least a 2.0 grade point average. Administration officials say the governor supports the amended version.

Tucker County Superintendent Rick Hicks shares Hinzman’s belief that the bill could make students exhibit better behavior.

“I think anything that gives students the incentive to stay in school and out of trouble is a positive thing,” Hicks said. “I suspect that the 2.0 grade point average part of the bill is not going to come through. We don’t have a lot of problems here in Tucker County with poor attendance or behavior problems the way it is.”

Barbour County Schools Superintendent Dr. DeeDe Lundeen said each child is an individual and she believes the law could have either a positive or negative effect, depending on the child.

“I want to make sure we do right by all children,” Lundeen said. “I haven’t had time to sit down and read it carefully and determine its pros and cons. However once passed, I will be very careful to do that.

“I think as with any law it’s going to carry pros and cons. Some pros that I can think of — it might function as an incentive to have children appropriately behave. In some cases, such as with children with special needs, it might not function so much as an incentive as it would a punishment. Whether or not it will be effective remains to be seen. It certainly seems as if it would be a good incentive, but in some cases it might be a punishment and we know punishments don’t work as well as incentives.”

Each year West Virginia already suspends as many as 1,000 licenses of teens who drop out of school.

yeah, they wonder why the drop out rate is steadily rising. This bill will definitely force even more kids out of school, as if they aren't already trying hard enough.