Boston Public School students older than the district’s maximum age will be allowed to finish the semester at the end of this month. School committee members are also considering allowing them to finish the school year along with changing its overall policy to “exit” students before their 22nd birthdays.
The move comes after students and teachers from an alternative school serving many immigrants, some of whom are on track to graduate at the end of the year, demanded district officials approve waivers to allow the district’s oldest students time to get their diplomas.
“Under no circumstances are we booting children out unfeelingly or unsympathetically,” Interim Superintendent Laura Perille told school committee members. The “line does have to be drawn somewhere and has to be drawn equitably.”
As the district considers what to do with older students, they are weighing the needs, legal rights, and costs of educating two distinct student bodies. There are about 100 students this rule affects. Many of them are in special education, “need significant support” and are not “diploma bound.” While the other students are immigrants new to the country or students who have returned to school after dropping out.