BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1236
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 24, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 1236 (Mullin) - As Amended: January 8, 2008
Policy Committee: EducationVote:7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Kindergarten Year 1 and Kindergarten
Year 2 pilot (K1 & 2) program for children eligible for
kindergarten. The measure requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI), on or before January 1, 2009, to select two
urban, two rural, and two suburban school districts interested
in participating in the pilot program, as specified.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires K1 to be a transitional kindergarten class and not
operate identically to a "regular" kindergarten class (i.e.,
K2) and requires enrollment in K1 to prioritize children who
turn five years of age between September 1 and December 2, as
specified. This bill essentially extends the number of years
children attend school from K-12 to K-13 by establishing a
two-year kindergarten.
2)Requires the State Department of Education (SDE), in the
2009-10 school year, to develop and make available to school
districts research-based, age and developmentally appropriate
K1 teaching practices, as specified.
3)Requires priority for selection in the K1 & 2 program to be
given to school districts with a high number of English
language learners, pupils who are eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch, and schools ranked in deciles one to
three of the 2008 Academic Performance Index. This bill also
requires the SPI to complete an evaluation of the K1 & K2
program by January 1, 2017.
4)Authorizes school districts participating in the K1 & 2
program, beginning on July 1, 2010, to include the attendance
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of pupils in K1 and pupils in K2 in computing the average
daily attendance (ADA) of the school district.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)GF/98 cost pressure, likely in excess of $700,000, to
establish the K1 & 2 pilot program. This estimate assumes
that six school districts establish at least one K1 class.
Therefore, after twelve years, the state incurs additional ADA
costs for children participating in this program. Likewise,
there will be GF/98 cost pressure in the tens of thousands to
provide additional categorical program funding for these
pupils (i.e., economic impact aid, instructional materials,
etc.). This cost may be offset by the number of children that
would be held back in kindergarten absent a pilot program.
2)GF administrative costs, of approximately $150,000, to the SPI
to conduct an evaluation of this measure. It is likely that
the SPI would need to contract out for these services.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . California schools have increasingly emphasized
standards-based instruction at all grade levels, including
kindergarten. This emphasis has changed the learning
activities in kindergarten from socialization-oriented
activities to ones that focus on meeting specific academic
requirements in order to prepare children for first grade.
Many individuals argue that this shift in instructional
services has been difficult because not all children enter
kindergarten with the same knowledge and skill level.
This bill attempts to address these issues by establishing the
K1 and K2 pilot program. A K1 classroom would teach pupils
who are not quite ready for standards-based instruction in
"regular kindergarten" to be in a structured learning
environment prior to K2. According to the author, "While
there is no study that indicates what an ideal age is for
starting kindergarten, some studies have shown that when
children start kindergarten at a younger age (e.g., four years
old), they sometimes have difficulty academically, socially,
or emotionally."
The author further argues that current law allows
kindergartners to be held from entering the first grade, with
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consultation with parents. The pupils that repeat
kindergarten often struggle academically and teachers may need
to spend additional time with these children, which takes away
from their ability to teach other students. According to the
author, "Allowing districts to assess a child at the beginning
of the kindergarten school year and based on the
determination, place the child in either the regular
kindergarten class or a transitional kindergarten class would
benefit the child by enabling the child to learn at a more
appropriate pace with an appropriate curriculum without the
stigma of being held back."
2)Existing law does not require children to attend kindergarten.
If a child does attend, he or she must be admitted if the
child will have his or her fifth birthday on or before
December 2 of that school year.
This bill does not propose to make kindergarten mandatory nor
does it propose to "roll back the age" of kindergarten
admission to September 1, as previous measures. Instead,
children born between September 1 and December 2 are given
priority in enrollment of the K1 & K2 pilot program.
3)SDE study on changing the admission age of kindergarten
students . In May 2004, the SDE submitted a report to the
Legislature on changing the kindergarten start date.
Specifically, the report states that changing the kindergarten
start date from December 1 to September 1 of each year would
delay approximately 114,235 children from entering
kindergarten for one year. It also affirms that this change
can potentially save the state up to $398.8 million beginning
in the second year of implementation. The amount of actual
savings would depend on the assumptions of how to support or
fund preschool services for those children whose entry into
kindergarten would be delayed.
The SDE also cautioned that "rather than looking at the merits
of changing the kindergarten cut-off date by itself,
considerable thought should be given to the types of quality
preschool services available for children whose entry to
kindergarten would be delayed as well as for other children."
4)Sunset date ? This bill establishes the K1 & 2 pilot program.
Traditionally, when the Legislature creates a pilot program, a
sunset date is established. The committee may wish to
consider whether or not it is appropriate to establish a
sunset date for this program.
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5)Similar legislation .
a) AB 2596 (Runner) incrementally changed the age at which
a child is admitted to kindergarten. This bill was held on
this committee's suspense file in May 2006.
b) AB 683 (Runner), pending in the Assembly Education
committee, moves up the date by three months by which a
child must be five years old to enroll in kindergarten and
six years old to enroll in first grade.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081