Kindergarten may change in California if two new bills pass
Categories: US Education News
Two newly introduced bills could significantly impact the early education landscape in California if they eventually become law.State Sen. Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, is championing a bill to make kindergarten mandatory while Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, has introduced legislation that would require school districts to offer full-day kindergarten. While both proposals have been put forth before, if these two pieces of legislation pass, they would fundamentally redefine and expand key aspects of the kindergarten experience. These proposals may be a sign of the times, some say, reflecting heightened attention to the importance of early childhood education. After years of being overshadowed by other concerns, early childhood issues might finally be getting the attention they deserve.From President Joe Biden’s vision of universal preschool to California’s pending expansion of transitional kindergarten, experts say, there is an emerging consensus, buttressed by extensive research, that high-quality early education can help develop the skills children need to become lifelong learners. Making kindergarten mandatory will help close the state’s achievement gap, advocates say, because some children who skip kindergarten have a hard time catching up with their peers. Children from low-income families enter school with fewer academic skills than their more advantaged classmates, an issue heightened by the pandemic.Kindergarten is not compulsory in California and most other states, according to the Education Commission of the States, a research group that tracks education policy. Children are required to be enrolled in school at age 6, however only an estimated 5% to 7% of students do not enroll in kindergarten, according to the California Kindergarten Association, in an average year. The pandemic, of course, is a different matter entirely, and many parents have kept children of all ages out of school because of fear of Covid transmission. Even now, surges in the virus sometimes lead parents to choose safety over schooling.“The governor and state lawmakers keep trumpeting the vital importance of narrowing disparities in early learning. But expanding full-day K would likely work against this virtuous aim,” said Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley. “Expanding full-day K would hold regressive effects, mostly benefiting economically better-off communities.”