BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 30|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 30
Author: Simitian (D)
Amended: 3/25/11
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-3, 5/11/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Vargas
NOES: Runner, Blakesle e, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian, Vacancy
SUBJECT : Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends by one year the date by which
the final report to the Kindergarten Readiness Pilot
Program is to be submitted.
ANALYSIS : Current law establishes the Kindergarten
Readiness Pilot Program to authorize school districts to
offer a kindergarten readiness program to children who will
be eligible to enter kindergarten in the following year.
Districts participating in the pilot program are required
to admit to kindergarten only children who have their 5th
birthday on or before September 1 of that school year.
Current law requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to contract for an independent
longitudinal evaluation regarding the effects of the change
in the entry age for kindergarten and first grade. The
CONTINUED
SB 30
Page
2
independent evaluator's report is to be submitted to the
Legislature, the Governor, the SPI, the State Board of
Education and the Secretary for Education, as follows:
1.Initial report by June 1, 2009.
2.Interim report by January 1, 2011.
3.Final report by January 1, 2012.
The Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program was never funded
and was, therefore, never operational.
Current law requires that a child be admitted to
kindergarten if the child will have his or her 5th birthday
on or before December 2. SB 1381 (Simitian), Chapter 705,
Statutes of 2010, phases in new minimum entry ages for
kindergarten, requiring pupils to have his or her 5th
birthday as follows:
1.November 1 for the 2012-13 school year.
2.October 1 for the 2013-14 school year.
3.September 1 for the 2014-15 school year and each year
thereafter.
SB 1381 also made corresponding changes for admittance to
the 1st grade, and established a transitional kindergarten
program for pupils who would otherwise have been eligible
to enter kindergarten.
This bill extends by one year, from January 1, 2012 to
January 1, 2013, the date by which the final report of the
Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program is to be submitted.
Comments
Purpose of the Bill . This bill serves as a placeholder for
any issues that may need to be addressed legislatively
regarding the implementation of the transitional
kindergarten program.
Related Legislation
CONTINUED
SB 30
Page
3
SB 634 (Runner), 2011-12 Session, prohibits a school
district from initiating a transitional kindergarten
program unless the Department of Finance has certified that
sufficient funds exist to initiate transitional
kindergarten programs in all school districts that can
enroll eligible children and requires a district to have a
positive financial certification prior to initiating a
transitional kindergarten program. (In Senate Education
Committee)
SB 942 (Senate Education Committee), 2011-12 Session,
deletes references to the Secretary for Education
throughout the Education Code, including the section of
this bill relating to receipt of the pilot program report.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
CPM:cm 5/12/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
**** END ****
CONTINUED