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
Calif. bill seeks to raise age for kindergarten
- 05-03-2010
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By Robin Hindery/San Francisco Chronicle
As a group, California's kindergartners are among the youngest in the nation, but that may change under a bill being considered in the state Legislature. The legislation by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, would require children to have turned 5 by Sept. 1 to begin kindergarten in that school year. The current cut-off date is Dec. 2, one of the latest in the country. Roughly 100,000 of the state's 430,000 kindergarten students enter school before their 5th birthday, according to the state Department of Education. The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates Simitian's bill could save the state $700 million per year by reducing enrollment. The measure would direct half of those savings to preschool programs and the rest to help plug the state's $20 billion budget deficit, Simitian said. (more...)
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