Proposals aimed at lowering the state's high school dropout rate are being considered by lawmakers, including one that raises the age individuals are required to attend school from 16 to 18 years old and another that creates graduation coach positions at schools with high dropout rates.

Under a bill (S 185) filed by Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, high schools could apply for state funds to hire coaches to help students at risk of leaving school. The coaches would not replace guidance counselors, but would be singularly focused on keeping students in school by helping them overcome problems in school and at home.

Chang-Diaz (D-Boston) said the plan is modeled after a similar program in Georgia, where the dropout rate decreased by 10 percent shortly after coaches were introduced in the schools.

Supporters of the bill said they are acutely aware of not placing another "unfunded mandate" on already overstressed school districts. Schools with high dropout rates would apply for state funds to pay for the graduation coach positions, Chang-Diaz said. Details of the positions, and cost projections are still being ironed out with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, she said.

Chang-Diaz said there is a dropout crisis across the state that increases demand for public assistance and leads to more people being incarcerated.

"Just as its ripple effects are many, so are its root causes," Chang-Diaz told the Joint Committee on Education, which she co-chairs, during a hearing in Gardner Auditorium Tuesday morning.

The bill also pushes school districts to rethink the use of detention and expulsion as disciplinary tactics.

Each year, approximately 10,000 students drop out of school in Massachusetts, according to a report by the Graduation and Dropout Prevention and Recovery Commission, formed in 2008 by the Legislature. The commission was charged with coming up with solutions and creating a timeline to reduce the state's dropout rate by half over five years.

Those who leave school without a diploma are more likely to live in poverty, be unemployed more often, or be incarcerated, according to researchers from Northeastern University. The median annual earnings of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 in Massachusetts without high school diplomas was $2,599 in 2008-2009, according to a study conducted by Northeastern's Center for Labor Market Studies. Also, during 2008-2009, approximately 8 percent of men under 30 years old who dropped out of high school were incarcerated during an average month, more than three times the rate of high school graduates.

Dozens of high school students who dropped out testified about how having someone dedicated to trying to keep them in school would have made a difference in their lives.

Araba Murray Adoboe, a 17-year-old from Amherst, said she dropped out of high school last February because she was struggling with her grades, an asthma condition and was bullied. When she went to school administrators, they said they would help her, but no one followed through, she said.

"I had no guidance. I had no extra help," she told lawmakers. "A couple of teachers tried to help me, but not the administration."

Murray Adoboe said since leaving school, no one has contacted her trying to urge her to return.

"The only contact from school I got was bills for books I still have," she said. "If I had a graduation coach I could have received tutoring or changed schools."

Murray Adoboe asked legislators to remember her story when they consider graduation coaches, "but I am only one of thousands," she said.

Sen. Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett), another bill sponsor, said he is concerned about the high dropout rate at schools in his district. Hiring graduation coaches would change that, he said.

"We need to have a process in place to make sure these kids know we care. Make sure they don't fall through the cracks," DiDomenico said.

The bill also expands the early warning indicator system already used by school systems to detect students at risk of dropping out. Currently, the early warning system kicks in at the 8th grade, but the bill would have students tracked starting in 3rd grade. Several people who testified said problems that lead to dropping out develop much earlier than middle school or high school.

Russet Morrow, public policy director with the United Way of Massachusetts, said tracking children starting in the third grade could prevent many students from leaving school. Issues that lead to dropping out - such as lack of proficient reading and behavioral issues - can be seen and fixed in elementary school, she said.

"If we can track them at a younger age we have a better chance of having them graduate," Morrow said.

Another bill, sponsored by Rep. Martha Walz (D-Boston), would raise the age students are required to attend school from 16 to 18 years old (H 1964). The bill also requires school districts with a dropout rate greater than 2 percent to develop a plan to reduce the number of dropouts.

Boston City Council members Tito Jackson and John Connolly testified in favor of raising the age requirement, as well as former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. Members of the city council are pushing for a home rule petition that would raise the age to 18 in city schools.

While Boston's dropout rate has decreased in recent years, approximately 1,000 students a year leave school before graduation, Connolly said.

"For many, they aim for 16," said Connolly, a middle school teacher. "When I see them begin to aim for 16, I know I can't save them. I know the law has not just given up on that child, but on me as a teacher as well."

Jackson said 16-year-olds are not able to vote or drink alcohol, "yet we allow them to a make a very adult decision to drop out of school."

Nineteen states have already raised the age limit, including New Hampshire, Healey said. After changing the age requirement, New Hampshire experienced a 30 percent decrease in the dropout rate, said Healey, who proposed similar legislation when she was in office.

"I think as parents you know our expectations for our kids matter. If you tell them they need to be in school until they are 18, that is the law, they adjust," she said. "Simply changing the law makes a difference."