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A483Assembly2019-2020 Session

Require Kindergarten at Age Five

Official title

“Requires kindergarten instruction for Rockland and Westchester counties for minors who are five years of age on or before December first”

Sponsor Amy PaulinAD-88+10 co-sponsorsAffects Education
Status
In Assembly Committee
Education
Impact
5/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Education

What's happening

This bill requires five-year-olds in Rockland and Westchester counties to attend kindergarten, with exceptions for parental choice, private, or home schooling.

Why it matters

  1. Expands early education access. By requiring five-year-olds in Rockland and Westchester counties to attend kindergarten, the bill aims to ensure that more children benefit from early learning, which can be crucial for cognitive and social development.

  2. Aims for educational consistency. This measure could help standardize the age at which children in these counties begin formal education, potentially reducing disparities in school readiness and future achievement gaps.

  3. Respects family and educational choice. The bill includes clear exemptions for parents who prefer to wait a year, as well as those choosing private or home schooling, balancing state education goals with individual family autonomy.

  4. Potential impact on school resources and planning. With more students entering kindergarten, local public schools may need to adjust staffing, classroom space, and resources, potentially prompting investments or reallocations to accommodate increased enrollment.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Require Kindergarten at Age Five

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

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Amy Paulin

Assembly Member · Assembly District 88

Chair, Health

History

  1. Referred to education
  2. Referred to education

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

483

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)

January 9, 2019

Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, JAFFEE, PRETLOW, ZEBROWSKI, STECK, HEVE- SI, RIVERA, COOK, ABINANTI, GALEF, OTIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD, GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring minors who are five years old to attend kindergarten instruction

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

Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 3205 of the education law is amended by adding a new paragraph d to read as follows:

d. In each school district in the counties of Rockland and Westchester, minors who are five years of age on or before December first shall attend kindergarten instruction, however, the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to:

(i) Minors whose parents elect not to enroll their children in school until the following September.

(ii) Students enrolled in non-public schools or in home instruction.

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

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD03694-01-9

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.