Helping Florida’s high school dropouts is a smart investment

A typical high school dropout earns $200,000 less over their lifetime than a high school graduate and $800,000 less than someone with a college degree. Dropouts make up nearly half of the U.S. prison population. They have a significantly higher suicide rate than the general population. And they are much more likely to require welfare and other forms of government relief.

So wouldn’t it make sense — especially in Florida, where thousands of students quit high school every year — to make it easier for dropouts to re-enter the education system and take a second shot at financial security?

That’s the thinking behind a smart new bill (HB 7051, SB 7032) that was approved 40-0 in the Florida Senate Wednesday. As proposed by Rep. Lauren Melo, a Republican from Naples, the bill would create the Graduation Alternative to Traditional Education, or GATE, program that would be open to people ages 16 to 21 who have dropped out of school. The goal is to get these young people qualified for jobs that pay a decent wage.

GATE would provide an easier path to both a high school diploma and workforce certification by eliminating registration, tuition, laboratory and exam fees for former students who enroll in a postsecondary career center or in a state college like Valencia or Seminole. In return, the students must maintain at least passing grades in their coursework and complete the program within three years. Legislative analysts estimate the initial cost to taxpayers at about $6.9 million annually. That’s a pittance compared to the state’s $117 billion annual budget.

The program has its critics in the Legislature, most of whom focus on its perceived unfairness to students who earn their high school diploma the first time around. But most Florida high school students have the option to pursue dual enrollment, which lets them earn college credit while still enrolled in high school. And it’s important to look at the bigger picture.

As Melo reminded her legislative colleagues, Florida’s in-state tuition is among the least expensive in the nation. And the program only allows returning dropouts to pursue a high school diploma and workforce certificates, not the fouryear college degrees available to traditional high school graduates. The GATE program would not replace the General Educational Development (GED) test that some dropouts take to receive the equivalent of a high school diploma.

More importantly, who gains if we allow so many of our young people to fall by the wayside? If the program only keeps a small percentage of dropouts out of prison or off of welfare, it should help pay for itself.

We need to remember that many dropouts are kids and young adults whose lives went off track through no fault of their own. Many come from unstable families. Some are abused. Some attended high-poverty schools where there was little chance of success.

The least we can do — given that it’s in all of our best interests — is offer them a helping hand.

This editorial was updated from one published by the Tampa Bay Times. The Sentinel sometimes republishes editorials that reflect our overall point of view. The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Editorin-Chief Julie Anderson and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@ orlandosentinel.com