ALABAMA

In 2009, Alabama passed Senate Bill 334, seminal legislation advancing the state's prior commitments to reducing the dropout problem.

A turning point in the state's approach to dropout prevention and recovery, SB 334 mandated reporting the National Governors Association's cohort graduation rate and using low cohort graduation rates as an impetus to target appropriate interventions to schools districts. The legislation also requires that the state institute leading indicators to identify potential dropouts based on the latest research: student performance on ninth grade core academic courses (e.g., math and English). 

SB 334 strengthens Back on Track models by encouraging the integration of college course-taking into programming for students off track to graduation or returning dropouts.  Alabama requires improved access to Advanced Placement courses for struggling students in school districts with low graduation rates. Alternative education programs incorporating dual enrollment courses into their design are also cited as a dropout prevention strategy, as well as a state-level Fast Track to College program.

This legislation calls for the use of intensive coaching at the middle and high school levels in order to support students off-track to graduation, although this is not a new state strategy. Two years earlier, the state had adopted a Dropout Prevention Advisor program, funded for one year under a competitive grant process. Unfortunately, the state has not allocated additional funding for the implementation of SB 334. However, Alabama has shown its commitment to sustain some dropout programming through consecutive budgetary cycles: the Dropout Prevention Pilot and the Preparing Alabama Students for Success (PASS). In 2007, Alabama passed SB 570, establishing the Dropout Prevention Pilot program, serving students whose education has been interrupted due to disciplinary reasons.  Dropout prevention pilots provide educational programming leading to a high school diploma, GED or vocational training. PASS is a dropout-prevention program designed to help at-risk students in sixth through twelfth grades complete graduation requirements through focus on attendance, academics, instructional materials to support programs, and community outreach programs. 

With SB 334, Alabama increased its compulsory age to 17.