CTA’s State Council of Education has voted to sponsor legislation making kindergarten mandatory and raising the kindergarten entrance age.
The legislation will propose phasing in the change in entrance age over a three-year period — from age 5 by Dec. 2 to age 5 by Sept. 1 with the age being moved back one month each year — to help districts offset enrollment losses.
The legislation, which was proposed by Council’s Early Childhood Education Committee, has been given Tier 1 status for the next legislative session, meaning it represents the association’s highest goals and objectives.
“Children who are not exposed to the kindergarten curriculum are not prepared to meet first-grade standards,” says Robert Lynch, chair of the Early Childhood Education Committee. “Until kindergarten is mandatory, parents cannot be held accountable for student attendance. Without mandatory kindergarten, any child can enroll in first grade with no prior education experience or skills.”
Children who enter first grade without any reading skills are at an immediate disadvantage. Research has shown that this disadvantage can follow the student throughout his or her school career.
As for the proposal to change the entrance age for kindergarten programs, ECE Vice Chair Sue Allen says, “Five-year-olds would be better prepared to meet the challenging California State Content Standards than the current population which includes four-year-olds. The developmental readiness of kindergarten students — including their social, emotional, motor and intellectual maturity — is fundamental to the success of each child’s educational achievement.”
“Kindergarten programs have rigorous content standards that place developmentally inappropriate demands on the students at age four,” says Allen. “Students who begin kindergarten at the age of four are more likely to be retained in the primary grades.”
With the new entrance date, students would have an improved opportunity to get developmentally ready for the rigors of kindergarten.