Hi Ellen, I could not remember whether that bill was signed by Pataki or not so just to check I went to look it up. What I found was a bill A6096, dated March 5, 2001, to raise the attendance age to 18 with an exception for for 16 and 17 yr olds who have passed a competency exam according to the Commissioner. The text is available online at http://leginfo.state.ny.us:82/menugetf.cgi I guess this means that the previous bill was not passed. I never signed my 16yr old up last yr and never heard a word. Chris W.