In many states, public schools are required to admit students to 16 years of age. At this point, students may drop out or choose to work, etc. I believe that the amount of state funding the school receives for older entering students may be different or not exist at all, which may be part of the reason why districts are hesitant to enroll them. 

In some schools near me (rural Colorado), students who wish to enter school over the age of 16 must petition their case to the school board to enroll. They, their parent/guardians, employers or other community representative need to establish their reasons for wanting to be in school and their future goals, along with providing previous school grades. They may sign a contract with the district that establishes what classes they need to take to graduate, how long it will take and involve behavior standards if that has been an issue. 

My high school is very willing to enroll older students without school board involvement, but we have a meeting with parents and guardians, the student, principal, ESL director and guidance counselor to hammer out similar elements. If students are clear that they only want to enroll to "learn English" we offer other community options (GED, adult ESL classes, etc.). Once a student is enrolled, the ESL department is really responsible for helping the student stay in school, for creating a realistic schedule, for networking with classroom teachers, for helping with disciplinary issues, etc. If things start to crumble, then other options are suggested again and ESL connects the student with GED teachers, etc. 

This year we have two 20/21 year old students enrolled. One is highly motivated, knows she wants to be a nurse, stays up until midnight working on homework and is a live-in nanny/housekeeper. The other student comes in late, doesn't do homework, etc. His contract is about to break. We've tried to help him stay in the system, but it appears that one of his reasons for being in school is to get perks elsewhere (lower rent, etc.). Many people have worked hard with both students to help make things work and we are content that the students understood what they were getting into. 

I think suggesting either of these methods could work in some of the scenarios mentioned in recent posts. 

Kathleen Morgan
Telluride School District
Telluride CO


 --- On Thu 02/09, Dottie < dottie at shattuck.net > wrote:
From: Dottie [mailto: dottie at shattuck.net]
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 22:36:34 -0500
Subject: Re: [EnglishLanguage] Adolescents in adult ESOL classes

We're having a similar problem here in Charlotte, NC.. As a refugee <br>resettlement agency, our caseworkers take the newly arriving families to the <br>public school "international" office to enroll the children & then to the <br>assigned schools.  Since Aug., we've had 3 or 4 young Montangard boys/men <br>(18-19 yrs.) rejected by the local high school.  Although NC law apparently <br>allows kids to remain in H.S. until age 21, admitting them after turning age <br>18 is "at the principal's discretion."  To add insult to injury, some of <br>their birthdays are "government issued" (1-1- 19xx).  [If the date were <br>later, say 12-12-19xx, the boys would have been admitted.]<br><br>We're concerned that they're being rejected because of a perceived <br>"inability to succeed" - especially w/all the mandated testing.  The <br>caseworkers & I think they'd benefit greatly from the 6 hrs./day of classes, <br>esp. since we can offer only 3-6 hrs. /week of classes.<br><br>On the other 
side, we've had a recently-arrived 16 yr. old (who was in high <br>school) quit because he wanted to work & help his family when his dad was <br>laid-off.  Now we're having trouble getting him back into school.<br><br>Are there no good answers for these kids?<br><br>Dottie Shattuck<br>HIAS-NC <br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------<br>National Institute for Literacy<br>Adult English Language Learners mailing list<br>EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov<br>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage<br>

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