NAACP Resolution for Decreasing the Dropout Rate for Minority Students

WHEREAS, nearly one-third of all high school students and approximately half of all minority high school students drop out of school before graduating from high school; and

WHEREAS, many of the students drop out of school with an average of just two years of high school remaining; and

WHEREAS, rising dropout rates among minority students have far-reaching consequences including a variety of health, economic, and social problems, including a greater probability of becoming a part of the criminal justice system; and

WHEREAS, recent research has demonstrated that, over the course of a lifetime, on average each new high school graduate would contribute an additional $139,100 in income tax revenue, would save $40,500 in public health care costs, and would reduce crime-related costs by $26,600 in comparison with a non-high school graduate; and

WHEREAS, states currently define dropouts, calculate dropout rates, and report on dropouts in widely varying ways leading to ineffective services being rendered to students in danger of dropping out; and

WHEREAS, rising dropout rates are directly related to educational quality; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP calls on the federal government to require every public school district in the nation to define dropouts, calculate dropout rates, and report on dropout rates in a standardized manner; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP calls on states to publicly report their dropout rates disaggregated by race, gender and ethnicity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP calls on states to devise measurable plans to decrease their dropout rates and increase their graduation rates for minority students; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP calls on federal, state, and local policymakers to devise means of rewarding schools for decreasing dropout rates and increasing graduation rates for minority students;