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A331Assembly2019-2020 Session

Require Full-Day Kindergarten

Official title

“Requires kindergartens to operate full day programs”

Sponsor Amy PaulinAD-88+12 co-sponsorsAffects Education
Status
In Assembly Committee
Education
Impact
8/10
Significant
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Education

What's happening

This bill requires all New York school districts to provide free, full-day kindergarten for resident children starting in the 2021-2022 school year.

Why it matters

  1. Mandates universal access to full-day kindergarten. , ensuring that every child in New York, regardless of school district, can benefit from a consistent, high-quality early education experience.

  2. Removes discretion from local school boards. districts can no longer opt out of offering kindergarten or provide only half-day programs, standardizing early education opportunities statewide.

  3. May require significant adjustments to school resources. , including hiring more teachers, expanding facilities, and increasing transportation and support services to accommodate full-day programs for all eligible children.

  4. Could reduce educational disparities. by guaranteeing that children in under-resourced or rural districts receive the same early childhood learning opportunities as those in wealthier areas, potentially improving long-term academic and social outcomes.

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Who cares

  • School boards

    The bill would require them to maintain free kindergarten and operate it full day beginning in the 2021–2022 school year.

  • School district administrators

    Districts would have to make full-day kindergarten available to all children beginning in the 2021–2022 school year.

  • Families with kindergarten-age children

    The bill would require free, full-day kindergarten for eligible resident children ages four to six, while preserving school boards’ authority to set a higher minimum admission age.

Headline styles

Require Full-Day Kindergarten

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Amy Paulin

Assembly Member · Assembly District 88

Chair, Health

1 Multi-sponsor

History

  1. Referred to education
  2. Referred to education

Full text

2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

331

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)

January 9, 2019

Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, JAFFEE, PRETLOW, ZEBROWSKI, RAMOS, STECK, HEVESI, RIVERA, COOK, GALEF, ABINANTI, RAIA, LUPARDO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to full day kindergarten

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 1712 of the education law is amended to read as follows:

1. The board of education of each school district [may] shall maintain kindergartens which shall be free to resident children between the ages of four and six years, provided, however, such board may fix a higher minimum age for admission to such kindergartens. In the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year and thereafter, all such kindergartens shall be operated on a full-time basis.

§ 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2514 of the education law, as added by chapter 762 of the laws of 1950, is amended to read as follows:

1. The board of education of each city school district [may] shall maintain kindergartens which shall be free to resident children between the ages of four and six years, provided, however, such board may fix a higher minimum age for admission to such kindergartens. In the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year and thereafter, all such kindergartens shall be operated on a full-time basis.

§ 3. Subdivision 1 of section 2555 of the education law, such section as renumbered by chapter 762 of the laws of 1950, is amended to read as follows:

1. The board of education of each city [may] shall maintain kindergartens which shall be free to resident children between the ages of four and six years, provided, however, such board may fix a higher minimum age for admission to such kindergartens. In the two thousand twenty-

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD03717-01-9

A. 331 2

one--two thousand twenty-two school year and thereafter, all such kindergartens shall be operated on a full-time basis.

§ 4. The opening paragraph of subdivision 9 of section 3602 of the education law, as amended by section 9 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:

School districts may make available full day kindergarten programs for all children wishing to attend such programs, and, commencing with the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year, shall make full day kindergarten programs available to all children.

§ 5. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.