BILL NUMBER:  AB 634
  VETOED	DATE: 09/26/2002




SEP 26, 2002

To the Members of the California Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 634 without my signature.

This bill, commencing July 1, 2004, makes the compulsory education
law apply to a child (and the parents or guardian of the child)
between the ages of 5 and 6 years, if the child is enrolled in a
public school kindergarten that accepts children under six years of
age, and attends the kindergarten for at least 30 days during the
school year.

I commend the author for his interest in early childhood education.
However, I am concerned that this bill would unduly restrict a parent'
s or guardian's education choices for their children, I believe
parents should retain the right to choose an education program for
their 5-year old children.

Additionally, the state is already poised to study the effect of
similar policy through AB 25, (Chapter 1022, Statutes of 2000).  This
bill creates the Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program, a voluntary
project, to test the effectiveness of providing
kindergarten-readiness programs and increasing the age of entry to
kindergarten.  AB 25 also requires an independent evaluator to submit
a final report by January 1, 2008.  Therefore, it would be premature
to sign AB 634 prior to receiving the resul ts of the evaluation.

Sincerely,



GRAY DAVIS