Amid an epidemic of chronic school absenteeism, Ohio lawmakers have a new idea to solve the problem — pay kids to come to class.
An Ohio bill would pay families $500 a year for each kindergartener or 9th grader who attends school 90% of the time. The bill would also give high school seniors $250 for graduating and up to $750 more if their GPAs are 3.0 or higher.
The bipartisan bill is sponsored by state Representatives Bill Seitz, a Republican, and Dani Isaacsohn, a Democrat, both from the Cincinnati area.
The bill says it would create a two-year pilot program for the idea, which would cost about $1.5 million.
Not every school and student would be able to participate in the pilot stage — the program would be targeted at schools with low attendance.
“So, we’re going to pick sort of the worst of the worst on attendance and see if we can move the needle,” Seitz told the House…
