Legislators on the appropriations committee went back and forth Tuesday on a bill seeking to clarify the high school dropout age in Connecticut.
Even some school officials are unclear about the law, said state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann of West Hartford. Some think it is 16. Others think it is 17.
"Current law is children have to stay in school until they're 18,'' Fleischmann told fellow committee members. "The bill before us would maintain the status quo. ... It is the governor's belief, which I share, that the best policy is to maintain current law.''
But state Sen. Rob Kane, a Watertown Republican, said he has heard different explanations from local school officials.
"It seems that I've gotten mixed messages from the individuals I've spoken to,'' Kane said.