Proponents say the plan will help students already on the verge of dropping out to leave school better prepared than if they simply dropped out. Opponents say it will encourage more dropouts.

Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, said it offers educators a final opportunity to "salvage some of those students" who are otherwise "on a dead-end street." By completing a GED program, they will at least be better prepared for a job, Young said.

"It's going to affect the most difficult students to keep in school right now," Young said. "In my view, it's a big plus for them. It's another option."

High school pupils as young as 16 would be able to take the GED test and receive their equivalency certificates. Those students who qualify would have to complete a GED program and would be provided counseling and tutoring to pass the test.

But Richard Innes, a spokesman for the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, said state education officials may "have opened a Pandora's box," by approving the measure. Innes said the idea promotes students struggling in school to give up.

It also dilutes GED certificates for adults who possess them, he said.

"It might take a while to take hold, but kids are smart and at least some of them will try to take the easy way out," Innes said.

The idea still has to be approved by lawmakers.

Now, pupils under age 17 may take a GED test only with the approval of their local school superintendent or by meeting certain other criteria. Those between ages 17 and 19 may take the test if they've been out of school for at least a year, or if their class has already graduated.

Anyone over age 19 can simply take the GED test.

Now, if lawmakers sign off on the proposal, eligible students would not have to wait before seeking their equivalency certificates. Those entering the program would have to be at least 16, two grades behind the cohort group the student entered high school with, and have earned at least four credits toward graduation.

They may also still have to take the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System exam, depending on their grade level. The CATS test is an end-of-year accountability exam.

About 6,500 16- to 18-year-olds enrolled in GED classes last year, with about 3,500 passing the exam, according to preliminary figures from the council. Kentucky schools lost more than 7,000 dropouts in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

State law permits students to drop out of school at age 16.

Before it's presented to lawmakers for final approval, there will be public hearings on the matter by the end of November, said Lisa Gross, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education.