Failing Grade

Grace has enrolled in G.E.D. classes and Scott has earned his G.E.D. diploma and joined the Marines, saying he wants to earn a college degree.

According to our Oprah Winfrey Show-Time magazine poll, 62 percent of respondents said the government should forbid students who are under 18 from dropping out of school. In most states, 16-year-olds are legally permitted to drop out of school.

In Scott and Grace's home state of Indiana, a tough new law seeks to limit dropout rates. Children under 18 who drop out can be stripped of driver's licenses and work permits unless they have legitimate health, financial or legal reasons for leaving school.