PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Legislation requiring students to stay in school until the age of 18 now heads to Governor Chafee, following General Assembly approval late Thursday night.

Current law requires school attendance to age 16.

The bill's sponsors, Rep. Joseph M. McNamara, D- Warwick, and Sen. Louis P. DiPalma, D-Middletown, said in a statement that they believe that the age of 16 is too young for a teen to decide to terminate his or her formal education.

"Sixteen may be an appropriate time to let an individual get a driver's license, but it is too young an age to allow someone to make a decision that could negatively affect the rest of his or her life," McNamara said.

Students over the age of 16 involved with an "alternative learning plan" such as an independent study, private instruction, performing groups, internships, community service, apprenticeships and on-line courses, could be granted a waiver of the new requirement, under the legislation.

Students would also be able to leave school prior to age 18, under the bill, if they have successfully completed all requirements for graduation, have obtained a GED certificate, have documented completion of a home school program, have been accepted into an accredited post-secondary education program or have been accepted into a vocational program recognized by the state.

About half the states, including Rhode Island, currently have a compulsory attendance age of 16, with the remainder requiring students to stay in school through either age 17 or 18, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures.