Posted October 14, 2018 06:30:58Kentucky has a long history of having the worst high school graduation rates in the nation, but it’s now getting better.
State leaders say they’re putting in place a system to help improve graduation rates across the state.
“We’re going to make it so students don’t need to go to the barber to get their hair cut,” said state Senator Chris Koster, who introduced the bill.
“We’re putting the barbers in charge of our schools.”
Koster is the chairman of the Senate Education and Labor Committee.
Koster introduced Senate Bill 762, which he says is the first statewide reform of the state’s graduation system in decades.
It’s also one of the first bills that aims to improve graduation for all students.
Kentucky’s graduation rate of 58.3 percent is one of its worst in the country, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
The state has had the highest graduation rates for students in every state except for Massachusetts.
In the past few years, Koster says, the state has been able to attract some of the top schools in the United States.
Kentucky also has a reputation for having one of America’s highest rates of dropout rates.
But Koster and other lawmakers say that can be attributed to the high cost of attending school.
Kentuckians are currently responsible for paying more than $11,000 in tuition, $2,000 for room and board, and $4,000 to attend college.
The state’s system requires students to earn at least a bachelor’s degree.
And Koster said the new system would allow students to go into a barber shop and earn their barbering degree, as well.
Kentucks graduation rate has been on the decline for decades.
In 2014, Kentucky’s graduation rates were 53.5 percent, according the National Association of Barber Colleges.
That number dropped to 46.4 percent in 2016.
Students in Kentucky can earn a bachelor of arts degree in accounting, social work, psychology, or English.
Kentivians are also struggling to get ahead.
The average household income in Kentucky is $56,000.
The median household income for people ages 20 to 24 is $46,000, according a 2016 report from the University of Kentucky’s Center for Economic and Policy Research.
It’s also hard for students to get an affordable college education.
The percentage of graduates who graduate from high school is the lowest in the U.S., according to an April 2017 report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
The current system is meant to help students get a better shot at a job and better financial stability.
According to Koster’s bill, graduates who don’t graduate from Kentucky’s high school will be automatically disqualified from receiving the state barber license.
This will be done by an independent body.
Kentland barbers can earn up to $1,500 a day.
They can also earn up, say, $3,500 per week, but will have to spend at least $1 million in total on the bar-cutting business, Koster said.
Kentuckedians also won’t be able to attend the state universities of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, and Kentucky State Technical Institute, Kano said.
And they will not be allowed to attend a Kentucky State Barbershop, which was approved last year, Kanda said.
If students do not get their degrees by the end of this year, they’ll be able go back to school, Kolan said.