Reason Foundation

Via the Education Gadfly:

As if high school students were not miserable enough. . .

When criticized about inflated graduation rates, the Texas education commissioner Robert Cook calls for a ban on hiring high school dropouts.

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott said businesses in Texas should quit hiring school-age dropouts to force those teenagers to either remain in school or continue their education elsewhere, such as through an online program.

"We need a commitment from businesses in this state to not hire kids who have dropped out of school," the commissioner said, contending that such an employment ban would go a long way in curbing the state's high dropout rate.

So let's get this straight; instead of offering more choices and more high-quality high school options or finding constructive ways to keep kids in school in the first place, let's create a larger group of unemployed high school dropouts on the hope that this will be an incentive for them to return to school.

Once again high school just looks like prison. A ban on hiring felons and high school dropouts.