PASS Act - Pathways for All Students to Succeed

The Challenge

Many of America’s high schools, and their students, are in serious trouble- and it’s getting worse. Each school day, about 3,000 secondary students drop out of school. This year alone, nearly 540,000 young people will leave school without attaining a high school diploma. Overall, the nation’s high school graduation rate hovers at an abysmal 69 percent, but in urban areas that figure is even worse, with many districts graduating less than 50 percent of their students.

Senator Murray will continue to fight for the PASS Act (S.611) to help America’s teenagers graduate from high school, go on to college, and enter the working world with the skills they need to succeed. The PASS Act will reach out to vulnerable students during high school by providing needed training, guidance and resources.

The PASS Act (S.611) is informed by proven research and practice on improving student achievement in the high school years. It empowers schools to provide the best possible support for students and teachers, and provides direct, targeted assistance to the students most in need of help.

Passage of the PASS Act will demonstrate action at the national level that is desperately needed to help transform high schools across America – making them true centers of learning from which our country’s older children will emerge with the literacy skills and advanced knowledge needed for college and rewarding careers.

America’s continuing economic strength and vigor of its civil society depends on the quality of its graduates who represent our nation’s future.

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