As one report in a comprehensive study of Illinois state mandates for elementary and secondary education, this study covers the three major areas in the Illinois compulsory attendance law: students' entrance age, their exit age, and the schools' obligation to enfore truancy regulations. After brief histories of compulsory attendance laws in the United States and in Illinois, questions are addressed on the issues raised by Illinois' compulsory attendance requirement, the public's expectations regarding school attendance, and the comparative status of Illinois among all states in school attrition, dropouts, and graduations. The authors further consider students' reasons for dropping out of school and the options for regular high school attendance as factors in possible reform of the compulsory attendance law. Preliminary recommendations at the end of the report advise modifications in the schools' legal responsibility for ensuring attendance and in provisions for alternative educational programs. (JW)