BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1381
Author: Simitian (D)
Amended: 6/1/10
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/14/10
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-2, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Denham, Leno, Price, Walters,
Wyland, Yee
NOES: Corbett, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SUBJECT : Kindergarten: age of admission
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill (1) revises the age of admission to
kindergarten and first grade by one month in each of three
years so that in 2014 and later years, a child will have to
be five years old on or before September 1 in order to
attend kindergarten, and (2) states the intent of the
Legislature that one half of the savings generated form the
revised entry dates be used for purposes of expanding the
state preschool program and that children who are four and
five years of age and not eligible for kindergarten be
allowed to participate in that preschool program.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Requires a child to be admitted to kindergarten at the
beginning of a school year if the child will be five
years old on or before December 2 of that school year.
Current law allows a school district to admit, on a
case-by-case basis, children who turn five at any time
during the school year provided that (a) the parent gives
permission, (b) the district determines early admittance
is in the best interest of the child, and (c) the parent
or guardian is given information regarding the advantages
and disadvantages of early admittance.
2.Requires a child to be admitted to the first grade of an
elementary school during the first month of a school year
if the child will have his or her sixth birthday on or
before December 2 of that school year.
Existing law does not require a pupil to enroll in
kindergarten but does subject each person between the ages
of six and 18 years of age to compulsory full-time
education, unless exempted pursuant to prescribed
provisions of law.
Existing law establishes the California State Preschool
Program for purposes of providing part-day and full-day
educational development program to three and four year old
children.
Existing law, AB 25 (Mazzoni), Chapter 102, Statutes of
1999, establishes the Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program
for the purpose of providing incentive funding to districts
to change the entry date of kindergarten to September 1 and
to provide pre-kindergarten education for children to
enhance their readiness for kindergarten. To date, the
Legislature has not appropriated funding for this program.
This bill:
1.Prohibits a school district, in computing the fiscal
average daily attendance, from including the year-to-year
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loss of average daily attendance in kindergarten for the
2012-13, 2013-14, or 2014-15 fiscal years.
2.Phases in new minimum entry-ages for kindergarten and
requires a child to be admitted to kindergarten at the
beginning of a school year or a later time in the same
year if the child will have his or her fifth birthday on
or before one of the following dates:
A. December 2 of the 2011-12 school year.
B. November 1 of the 2012-13 school year.
C. October 1 of the 2013-14 school year.
D. September 1 of the 2014-15 school year an each
school year thereafter.
3.Specifies that children who have their fifth birthday on
or before one of the dates described above may be
admitted to the prekindergarten summer program maintained
by the school district for pupils who will be enrolling
in kindergarten in September.
4.States the intent of the Legislature to (a) appropriate
in the annual Budget Act one-half of the savings
resulting from changes enacted by this bill for purposes
of expanding the state preschool program, and (b) that
children who are four and five years of age and
ineligible for admission to kindergarten be allowed to
participate in the state preschool program.
5.Allows a governing board of a school district maintaining
one or more kindergartens to, on a case-by-case basis,
admit to a kindergarten a child having attained the age
of five years at any time during the school year with the
approval of the parent or guardian, subject to the
following conditions:
A. The governing board determines the admittance is
in the best interests of the child.
B. The parent or guardian is given information
regarding the advantages and disadvantages and any
other explanatory information about the effect of
this early admittance.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Age of admission/ Savings in the hundreds of
millions, General*
preschool as of 2012-13
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/1/10)
Association of California School Administrators
Bridgelux
California Association of School Psychologists (if amended)
California Association of Suburban School Districts
California Kindergarten Association
Declaration Services
Inclusion Collaborative
Integrated Science Solutions, Inc.
Local Early Education Planning Council of Santa Clara
County
Junior League of San Jose
Palo Alto Educators Association
Preschool California (if amended)
Santa Clara County School Boards Association
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
State Public Affairs Committee/Junior Leagues of California
The Inclusion Collaborative
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/1/10)
California Teachers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Writing in support, the California
Kindergarten Association states, "Kindergarten educators
know that changing the entrance date will help to ensure
success for children throughout their school careers.
California students compete with other states on
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standardized testing and we are handicapping our students
with the current Dec. 2nd cut off date."
According to the Junior Leagues of California, "California
is one of the lowest test-scoring states and we need to be
in a level playing field with the other states...There are
so many positive impacts for a child who enters into school
possessing the necessary maturity that is required for
today's academic rigor that now exists in kindergarten and
first grade."
Proponents further believe that early childhood education
spending has one of the best returns of any public program.
Spending money early in a child's life saves the state
resources later in the form of reduced expenditures for
remedial education, criminal justice, and public
assistance.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : In opposition, the California
Teachers Association writes, "By changing the kindergarten
entry date, kindergarten students will be displaced from
the public school system for an additional year. While SB
1381 attempts to shift some of these displaced children to
the state preschool program, CTA believes that all
displaced students should have the opportunity to go to a
quality preschool program. The current state preschool
program is not accessible to all children and we do not
believe it is appropriate to displace students without
access to preschool."
CPM:cm 6/1/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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