According to the Sun Journal, “No school, no driving: Legislationwould keep truant teenagers off road” (May 9), Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, sponsored a bill that would deny drivers licenses to students under 17 if they miss more than 10 unexcused school days a year. The point is to encourage students to come to school and stay off the streets by providing a disincentive for not doing so.

My immediate reaction was to give the bill my wholehearted support. After all, who wouldn’t?

Then I thought that maybe the students who have to work occasionally to support their families – whether it be their parents or their own children (yes, teens sometimes have babies) – wouldn’t support the bill.

Or maybe the students with disabled parents who, from time to time, need help running their day-to-day lives wouldn’t be too happy with the bill. And what about the students who are victims of domestic abuse or have other problems at home that they aren’t willing to reveal to school officials and whose parents won’t write the notes needed to prove that the absences should be excused?

While the intentions of this bill are admirable, consideration needs to be given to the students who are skipping school because they have to, not because they want to.

I can’t wholeheartedly support a bill that was halfheartedly thought through.

Niraj Chokshi, Lewiston

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