High school teachers, help me out here.

[bluestateguy]

2. A prohibition on dropping out would be more trouble than its worth

Law enforcement having to sweep up 16-18 year old kids at the mall or on the street corners as truants, further clogging up scare police resources.

And why force a 16,17, 18 year old kid who is hell bent on not being in school to be there where he (mostly he's, anyway) is just going to disrupt kids trying to learn and teachers trying to teach. You'd be forcing a near adult teen to be in school where he would just clown around, gang bang, bully other kids, and generally cause trouble. This is unfair to already overburdened teachers and the kids who are trying to play by the rules.