HELENA (AP) -- A House panel tabled a bill Wednesday that would have abolished Montana's compulsory school attendance law.

Opponents to the measure by Rep. Rick Jore, C-Ronan, said repealing the law would hurt children of neglectful parents and take away a child's right to an education.

"I think the state does have a stake in making sure those kids who weren't gifted or blessed with parents who loved them and provided them with the best opportunities, that we at least provide them with an opportunity for an education," Rep. Holly Raser, D-Missoula, said.

The bill was tabled after it failed to win support from the House Education Committee.

Besides Jore, voting for the measure were Reps. George Everett, R-Kalispell; Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman; and Michael Lange, R-Billings.

"Ultimately, it goes to the question, 'Does the state own the child?' " Koopman said.

State law mandates that all children ages 7 to 16 attend some type of school. Jore's bill would have abolished that requirement for public, private and home-schooled students.

Jore tried to repeal the law several times as a Republican lawmaker in the 1990s. He maintains parents -- not the state -- should have the final say in their child's education.

"If the state could guarantee an education then I could see the legitimacy of compulsory education laws," he said. "But the state can't guarantee that."

Opponents to the bill included representatives from the state Board of Education, Office of Public Instruction, the Montana School Boards Association and state's largest teachers union.

The bill is House Bill 404.