History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Making sure kids are ready for kindergarten
- 06-16-2010
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By Patti Fisher/San Jose Mercury News
In the summer of 1992, when California was grappling with an $11 billion budget deficit and my oldest daughter was preparing to start kindergarten, then-Gov. Pete Wilson wanted to change the birthday cutoff for entering kindergartners from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1 to shrink the incoming class by 110,000 and save $350 million. The governor cited studies showing that children who had not turned 5 by the start of school often lacked the maturity to succeed and would benefit from waiting a year. He pointed out that most states had earlier cutoff dates. Although Wilson's theory was sound, his timing was lousy. My kid was turning 5 on Sept. 4, and I didn't know until mid-August, when Wilson abandoned his idea, whether she would be going to school. (more...)
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